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 is 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 made at last month’s Labor Party conference about the state of the UK economy and said the country was prepared for a recession. A period of national renaissance.
Reeves even suggested watering down tax increases for private equity bosses and halting the scrapping of controversial UK plans non-dom statepeople are worried that the implementation of such measures will trigger an outflow of wealth.
Meanwhile, the finance minister talked about plans to boost investment, including through the creation of a new National Wealth Fund and possible changes. pension rulesIt comes as speculation grows over possible changes to UK debt rules to encourage economic growth. 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.
