LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is looking to reorganize his government and recover from his first 100 days in office marred by policy failures, doom-mongering and “freebie” scandals.
Starmer reshuffled his No. 10 office over the weekend after his chief of staff Sue Gray was forced to resign amid criticism of her performance and management style and a backlash over pay.
Starmer hired Gray to help prepare him for government in 2023, and he was replaced by Morgan McSweeney, who led Labour’s winning campaign. Two others were appointed deputy chiefs of staff.
Meanwhile, appointments have been made to Downing Street’s media relations team, with James Lyons, most recently head of policy communications at TikTok, following a backlash over gifts and “freebies” received by Starmer and other senior ministers. After the objection, he will lead a new team.
Now more than three months after the election, the Labor government still has not revealed the details of the policy, and analysts are beginning to question whether the reforms will be enough for Starmer to show that he has a plan for government.
“They still don’t have any clear policy platform or direction, so the ship is basically at sea without a direction,” Phillip Blond, director of ResPublica, an independent, nonpartisan public policy think tank, told CNBC via email.
“Having better crews helps, but that doesn’t hide the lack of destinations,” he added.
Tony Travers, a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, noted that Starmer would have a steep hill to climb to regain control after allowing infighting to persist under his leadership. .
“The challenge for the Prime Minister was that the No. 10 car was out of control from the start,” Travers said via email.
“All ‘private offices’ are different and things often go wrong. Keir Starmer now needs to show he has control,” he added.
All eyes are now on the upcoming Autumn Budget on October 30, when Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is expected to outline her new government spending plans.
Both Starmer and Levis sought to walk back negative comments about the state of the UK economy at last month’s Labor Party conference and said the country was ready for a period of national renewal.
Reeves even suggested lowering tax increases on private equity bosses and halting plans to scrap Britain’s controversial non-self-governing status over concerns that implementing such measures would spark an outflow of wealth.
Meanwhile, the finance minister spoke of plans to stimulate investment, including through a new national wealth fund and possible changes to pension rules, to encourage economic growth, as speculation grows over possible changes to UK debt rules. Labor has previously pledged to abide by fiscal rules set by the previous Conservative government, which stipulated that debt as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) must fall within five years.
Still, Starmer warned of “difficult decisions” ahead since the Treasury discovered an alleged £22bn ($29bn) “black hole” in public finances inherited from the Conservatives. Emotions have been gripping the country. Former finance secretary Jeremy Hunt denies the claims “virtual.”
Citi analysts said in a note on Monday that the government needs to act quickly to map out the country’s growth plans.
They wrote: “The UK is approaching a make-or-break moment. The transition away from a low-growth, low-investment equilibrium is becoming increasingly urgent.”
new Research A report from KPMG and the Confederation of Recruitment and Employment on Monday showed that UK businesses have paused recruitment amid uncertainty over the government’s plans on taxation, industrial strategy and workers’ rights.
Last month, consumer confidence fell the most since Russia invaded Ukraine, even as lower interest rates eased pressure on households. According to GfK data.
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