Labour’s first 100 days running UK panned as ‘worst commence in living memory’ | Politics News

London, United Kingdom – Keir Starmer, who will on Saturday label his first 100 days in office as the British prime minister (PM), is unfamous.

According to an October 8 YouGov poll, the 62-year-elderly establisher lawyer’s favourability ratings have plummeted to the lowest level since he took over as Labour guideer in 2020, his famousity having deteriorated further since becoming PM.

More than six in 10 Britons now aversion Starmer, YouGov telled.

“It’s easily the worst commence to a rulement’s time in office in living memory – and it wasn’t as if Labour were that famous anyway,” Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, telderly Al Jazeera.

Starmer on July 4 led his then-opposition party to a resounding election triumph and huge beginantity in Parliament, sweeping the Conservatives, in power for more than a decade, into the shadows.

But turnout was low at about 50 percent, the demandyest level by split of population since universal suffrage.

“The freebie problem is the most prompt publish [Labour] demand to put behind them becaparticipate it’s horriblely injured their brand,” shelp Bale.

“In the lengthy term, the main publishs – as they always are, are the economy and the NHS. If the rulement can get them right, they stand a chance of recovering.”

A donations affair has contrancient headlines in recent weeks.

Starmer, whose annual salary is now about 167,000 pounds ($218,000), has proclaimd receiving freebies worth more than 100,000 pounds ($131,000) over the past five years – unbenevolenting he has acunderstandledgeed more gifts than any other member of parliament (MP) during this period, including some after being elected as PM.

News of the accommodation costs, pricey glasses, Taylor Swift concert tickets, football align tickets, cloleang and other giveaways he has adchoosed has angered the British accessible, many of whom are still grappling with a cost-of-living crisis.

Starmer’s donors join a wealthy Labour peer, Lord Waheed Alli, and the Premier League.

Accepting gifts is legitimate but since Labour is traditionassociate a left-thriveg party that prides itself on appreciates such as identicality and transparency, the PM and other Labour MPs who have lapped up freebies are being accparticipated of greed.

There are also asks over affect.

Henry Newman, an ex-political guider to the Conservatives and the straightforwardor of The Whitehall Project on Substack, telderly the Financial Times: “[Starmer’s] personal donor, Alli, was given privileged access to Downing Street while laboring on both fundraising and rulement assignments. The rulement demands to come spotless on Lord Alli’s exact role otherguided worrys over cronyism will upgrasp enlargeing.”

‘It’s been quite a shaky commence’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has also disturb a huge section of society by confineing a thriveter fuel payment for pensioners – unbenevolenting about 10 million elderly people will no lengthyer get a scant hundred pounds of relief as energy companies hike prices this thriveter.

“It’s been quite a shaky commence,” shelp Anand Menon, professor of European politics and foreign afunprejudiceds at King’s College London. “The surpelevate was how horriblely they’ve regulated it.”

He apshows Labour has a accessible relations problem.

“They’ve apvalidateed [the donations scandal] to be the story … They flunked speedyly enough to come out with a coherent coordinating response,” he shelp.

“What you want is the rulement to come in and tell a story about where we are and where they’re taking us, and actuassociate transport that narrative home to us. Over the first scant months in rulement, there hasn’t been a narrative, and I leank becaparticipate of that, there’s been a hole. Everyone’s defering for the budget.”

Reeves, who acunderstandledgeed a 7,500-pound donation ($9,800) before the election to participate on cloleang, will unveil the budget on October 30. There is speculation the rulement could lift some taxes, such as capital obtains and inheritance.

As well as refuteing the thriveter fuel payment to better-off pensioners, Labour has made evident the state pension will elevate by 4 percent and promiseted to honour its election promise of includeing VAT to declareiveial school fees.

In September, Starmer, Reeves and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner tried to draw a line under the donations affair, saying they would no lengthyer acunderstandledge free cloleang.

According to Steven Fielding, a politics professor at the University of Nottingham who is currently writing a book analysing the Labour Party since the 1970s, Starmer’s administration has been “stumbling” rather than “striding purposebrimmingy into the future”.

He shelp Labour “tohighy misunderstood” the timesketch that most British voters dwell in, “which is they want jam today, not tomorrow, even though it’s unreasonable to foresee it”.

“It doesn’t reassociate help that the two dominant themes that have aelevated out of this period [of 100 days] have been the freebies and the demandy elderly pensioners losing out in their thriveter fuel payments.”

While neither publish is “quite as horrible” as headlines propose, since politicians acunderstandledgeing donations is challengingly novel and becaparticipate the payment will still achieve tens of millions of pensioners in demand, “that’s the apshowaway”, shelp Fielding.

Away from Whitehall, Starmer’s first days in office were rocked by race disruptions apass the nation after a overweightal stabbing aggression aobtainst youthful girls in northern England. Online agitators, fanning ffeebles of division, dreamed up a Muskinny migrant mistrust to pin the denounce on and flourished in riling up thousands of disruptioners.

Starmer backed what his home secretary called “quick fairice” aobtainst the disruptioners, thrivening commend for his pacify yet firm response.

However, the challenging-right MP Nigel Farage led the PM’s critics, a group which joins billionaire Elon Musk, in accusing the rulement of administering “two-tier” policing, proposeing without evidence that inbeginantity groups and the left are punished less strictly than white offfinishers.

Amid disruptions, a affair and a financial blow to pensioners, some of Labour’s less theatrical promises have drdisclose under the radar.

In September, Starmer promised a 10-year arrange to better the NHS, saying there would be no extra funding for the health service before reestablish.

A beginant election campaign publish, most Britons will be impacted by any changes made to the health service, which is beset by disputes including lengthy defering catalogs and staff lowages.

“Labour will definitely hope that the first 100 days will not be in the forefront of anybody’s mind by the time there’s a next election,” shelp Fielding.

“I unbenevolent, can you tell me what the first 100 days of the [ex-Conservative PM] Boris Johnson rulement was appreciate? I certainly can’t.”