As it prepares to complete 100 days in power, Keir Starmer’s Labor government is already faced with citizen disappointment between internal struggles, difficulties in balancing the accounts with the hole inherited from 14 years of conservative executives, controversies over the gifts that the Prime Minister and difficulties in the reconstruction of public services and basic infrastructure of the country.
Sue Gray announced her resignation as Starmer’s chief of staff on Sunday after weeks of complaints against her over her leadership style. Gray, an independent civil servant for years and author of the report into the pandemic celebrations of Boris Johnson and his team, was signed by the Labor Party before the election, already controversial due to her previous role and her role in the ‘investigation. this led Johnson to resign.
Gray had been one of the architects of the transition preparations for the Labor Party after more than a decade out of government. One of his works was the “Shit Sue List” listing the most immediate emergencies that the new government would have to face, such as prison overcrowding or the possible bankruptcy of private water and railway companies.
There is little detail about Gray’s problem beyond comments often without public attribution about his alleged tendency to “not delegate” and “limit access” to Starmer in order to have “more power”. The comments about Gray fit the pattern of common criticism of women in positions of power. Other unidentified members of Starmer’s entourage highlighted his lack of “political experience” due to his origins outside the party. It was also annoying that Gray insisted on maintaining a higher salary than Starmer, in line with what other chiefs of staff have earned in the past.
In a statement this Sunday, Gray highlighted “the risk” that “intense comments” about his work become “a distraction from the government’s vital mission for change.” “Throughout my career my primary interest has always been public service,” said Gray, who will take on a new role as “envoy” for relations with regions and nations, particularly with Scotland and Northern Ireland, where she already has experience.
She is replaced in this role by Morgan McSweeney, who was already Starmer’s chief of staff when the current Prime Minister was in opposition, began working for the Labor Party at the age of 20 and was until present the leader of Downing Street’s political strategy.
The gifts
Beyond internal conflicts, the main self-inflicted crisis in the Labor government is the gifts accepted by Starmer and various ministers in the form of invitations to football matches, concerts, clothes and holiday accommodation.
Gifts to members of the British Parliament are legal provided they are declared within one month of receipt. But in Starmer’s case, what is striking is the value of the gifts: up to 120,000 euros during his four years as leader of the Labor Party, most of them for tickets for reserved seats and security to watch his football team, Arsenal. Starmer accepted forty tickets and other gifts, such as glasses and luxury accommodation, so his son could study for his exams during the campaign. The biggest donor, businessman and House of Lords member Waheed Alli, also paid up to €14,000 for clothes for Starmer’s wife and left her a house which would have cost more than €23,000. The House of Lords has launched an investigation into whether Alli complied with requirements for transparency in its donations.
Starmer says he has done nothing outside the rules, but has announced that neither he nor any member of his cabinet will now accept donations to pay for clothes. A few days ago he also announced that he would reimburse around 7,000 euros in gifts received since his election as Prime Minister and that this also included the money for tickets to the Taylor Swift concert in London at which he attended with his family just before the elections. .
The hole
The most problematic for the Labor government anyway is to improve health and other public services in a country impoverished by the financial crisis, the budget cuts of 14 years of Conservative governments and the consequences of Brexit, which Starmer is trying to mitigate. in the recently opened negotiations with the European Commission.
As soon as she came to power, the new Minister of the Economy, Rachel Reeves, announced that she was facing an unexpected financial hole of 22 billion pounds (more than 26 billion euros) and that she would be more difficult to balance the books than expected while the government insists on its general idea of increasing public spending, but not of increasing taxes on the majority of citizens.
Since its victory on July 4, the Labor government has taken steps to stimulate the creation of new towns and build more housing in those under development, invest in renewable energy through a new state-owned company, nationalize the railway companies in bankruptcy or settle salary disputes with public authorities. service unions. But many of these measures will take years to bear fruit.
The government repeats that it will increase public spending during its mandate, but for now one of its first measures has been to reduce the subsidy by around 220 or 350 euros per year to pay the electricity bill what retirees received, it will now only be for the poorest. One and a half million people will now be able to apply for assistance, instead of more than 11 million.
Potholes
Upon his election victory, Starmer promised to “rebuild” the country, but the damage is deep due to deficiencies affecting infrastructure, basic services, work, capacity for growth and relations with neighbors and elders. European partners.
One of Labor’s campaign promises was to repair a million potholes a year, one of the endemic problems on the UK’s streets and roads. The deterioration is getting worse and the Motorists’ Association reported on Monday that accidents due to unrepaired potholes continue to rise, with more than 50,200 accidents recorded last month due to road damage, i.e. 2% more than during the same period of the previous year. and the worst data since the organization began measuring pothole incidents in 2017.
Mark Morrell, a retired engineer and activist who has dedicated himself to campaigning for street improvements for more than a decade, explained this summer to elDiario.es that, according to his estimate, there are at least 11 million potholes on US roads. Kingdom.
“If this new government does nothing, within 15 years 53% of the UK’s roads and streets will be in structural disrepair,” said Morrell, nicknamed Mr Poothole (Mr. Bache).
Investigations
So far, only 23% of the population approves of the government’s management, according to the latest YouGov survey, which also indicates that the unpopularity is partly due to distrust of institutions and politicians, anchored for years in the within the population.
Some of Starmer’s policies enjoy the support of the majority of voters, including the decision to once again allow the construction of wind turbines on land – the Conservative government had vetoed them so that they could only be installed at sea – and suspension of weapons. sales contracts to Israel. The most unpopular measures were the removal of help for retirees to pay the electricity bill and the early release of prisoners due to prison overcrowding.
