LONDON — The Conservatives might be stuck in the wilderness of opposition. But a host of digital warriors are determined to turn their fortunes around. Wounded by an election rout delivering the party’s worst ever result last year, a band of battle-hardened millennials and Gen Z whizzkids are trying to keep the flame of U.K. conservatism burning bright. Despite languishing in the polls and facing constant threats from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, some Tories are keen to show they’ve not given up the fight by posting snappy, eye-catching social media videos.  “It’s absolutely essential that they bring through some new talent,” argued Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, and author of The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation. Pointing to opinion polling about the last Tory government, Bale argued, “people are not prepared to forgive that generation of politicians.” Party Leader Kemi Badenoch’s position remains insecure ahead of Tory conference this fall, with some Conservatives eying former leadership opponent Robert Jenrick as a possible successor. The shadow justice secretary has garnered a significant following on X by posting videos lambasting the government in a direct, no-nonsense style. Topics include tackling Tube fare dodgers and visiting northern France to meet migrants planning to cross the English Channel. Jenrick, it seems, has inspired others to follow suit. Here, POLITICO runs through the Tory posters keeping the dream of actually governing again alive.  KATIE LAM  The Weald of Kent MP went viral on X in April for a punchy parliamentary speech about grooming gangs.   Lam makes regular appearances on podcasts like the Spectator’s Coffee House Shots and less traditional outlets like football chairman Peter McCormack’s show. Serving as a Home Office whip, an X video last month about migration’s impact on public services — using pink beads to represent immigrants and jars to represent Britain — was praised for explaining a complex policy in an understandable way. Bale speculated whether videos like this aimed to boost the profile of newer MPs with journalists: “Although it seems like going over the heads of the media, actually, to be honest, Twitter is going through the media.” Lam has posted long social media threads on the economy, parliamentary sovereignty, the Equality Act and grooming gangs. Her ubiquity on the think tank and parliamentary circuit even saw a video compiling her appearances to the soundtrack of Blondie’s Atomic. And she met JD Vance during the U.S. vice president’s vacation in Britain. DANNY KRUGER  Kruger was a key figure during the dying days of the last Conservative government. Previously David Cameron’s chief speechwriter and Boris Johnson’s political secretary, Kruger has seen the Tories through highs and lows. He shows no signs of slowing down. Kruger was a key figure during the dying days of the last Conservative government. | Justin Tallos/AFP via Getty Images The East Wiltshire MP led the campaign against the assisted dying bill, with clips of him opposing the proposed change in law widely shared online — and emphasizing that conservatism was built around people’s duty to one another.   A 2023 book “Covenant: The New Politics of Home, Neighbourhood and Nation” was expanded on with a lengthy X thread about religion after MPs approved assisted dying. Kruger’s reach grew even larger with a viral Commons speech in July about restoring Christianity. The chamber was empty — but his comments were viewed millions of times. Kruger also met Vance over the summer.  NICK TIMOTHY  Timothy was only elected last year, but is a political veteran. The West Suffolk MP had a bumpy time as Theresa May’s joint chief of staff in No 10. He resigned after the then PM spectacularly lost her parliamentary majority in 2017 on a manifesto he co-authored.  Entering the Commons seven years later, Timothy has reinvented himself, writing punchy columns on topics as broad as net zero, assisted dying and immigration.   He has made a running arguing that free speech is under attack, and accusing Britain’s politicians of allowing a de facto blasphemy law to take hold. Introducing a private members’ bill on freedom of expression, Timothy attracted attention after questioning whether criticism of Islam is now allowed in modern Britain. He may be an old hand, but he’s shown an adeptness at grabbing attention in the modern age.  Timothy attracted attention for raising concerns about whether criticism of Islam was allowed. | Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA HARRIET CROSS   The Conservatives had few successes last year, but did manage to hold most of their Scottish seats, including the new Gordon and Buchan constituency in north east Scotland, which elected Cross as its MP. The One Nation Tory, who originally backed centrist Tom Tugendhat in the leadership race, has campaigned online strongly on issues that tend to cause Labour trouble.   Labour’s refusal to grant any new oil and gas licences and instead focus on renewable energy was leapt upon by Cross, whose seat is right by fossil fuels hotspot the North Sea. She posted regular videos from parliament defending employment in fossil fuel industries and trying to set a clear dividing line.   Labour’s inheritance tax changes for farmers also attracted her ire, and she was tapped up to introduce Scottish Tory Leader Russell Findlay at the party’s summer conference. Given the tough prospects facing the Tories at next year’s Holyrood elections, expect Cross’ star to rise. JAMES COWLING   Cowling has run Next Gen Tories since November 2022, an organization that puts “tackling the generational divide” at its core. Previously a parliamentary researcher, Cowling regularly posts graphics about modern housing costs.   Alongside working at the London Stock Exchange Group, Cowling has written for free market CapX website, where he suggested that a “vibe shift” backing fiscal responsibility could benefit the Tories. He told City AM that delivering infrastructure projects and lowering taxes was essential to stop young people from backing authoritarianism. Cowling has shown a willingness to debate opponents on the left-wing PoliticsJOE podcast too, which has a sizable young audience.  James Fisk, Next Gen Tories’ social media and content lead, said digital media creators should “enjoy it as much as possible” and not take it “ridiculously seriously, because people will see through it.” But Fisk admitted, “you really win people over in person.”   SIMON CLARKE  Clarke served in Liz Truss’ disastrously short administration, and was among hundreds of Tory MPs ejected from parliament last year, albeit by a tiny margin of 214 votes. However, he’s not opted to retreat from politics, and instead thrown himself into wonk world, heading up the center-right Onward think tank since January. “If you’re not shaping the digital debate, you’re at risk of talking to empty air,” Clarke told POLITICO, stressing the Tories needed to present their ideas confidently. “We’ve often tried to win online arguments with corporate tone and committee lines — and it doesn’t work.”  Clarke has certainly had some fun by answering 20 quickfire questions on an exercise bike, walking and talking around Westminster and (temporarily) becoming the new James Bond with “a license to build” as chair of Conservative YIMBY. Maybe losing your seat isn’t so bad after all? “If you’re not shaping the digital debate, you’re at risk of talking to empty air,” Simon Clarke told POLITICO. | Tolga Akmen/EPA JAMES YUCEL   Yucel directs Conservative YIMBY’s day-to-day operations (as well as working at Onward). An organization existing “to make the Conservative Party the home of the builders once again,” its Yes In My Back Yard approach starkly contrasts with older Tory voters, many of whom oppose new housing.  Conservative YIMBY’s first policy document, which was launched in a Westminster townhouse, outlined eight ways the Planning and Infrastructure Bill could be improved. The group’s denim blue “build baby build” baseball caps, costing £15, have become prolific, with Katie Lam, Tory Chairman Kevin Hollinrake and even Kemi Badenoch herself persuaded to wear them. Yucel sees former Home Secretary James Cleverly, who now shadows the housing brief, as an ally in his battle and has argued forcefully for the right to back more housing. But he has also defended Badenoch in a separate thread for her skepticism about Labour “overriding local democratic consent” on housing. The Tories want to fundamentally show they’ve got a USP for younger voters. “The Conservative Party has got an existential problem,” Tory peer Daniel Finkelstein warned. “It doesn’t have the support of enough young people, and if it doesn’t win that support, it can’t survive.”

LONDON — The U.K.’s top diplomat faces a £2,500 fine for fishing without a licence while hosting U.S. Vice President JD Vance last week. Foreign Secretary David Lammy has referred himself to the Environment Agency after fishing with Vance during the vice president’s U.K. vacation. The pair met Friday at Lammy’s official Chevening House residence in Kent ahead of Vance’s trip to the Cotswolds. The watchdog requires individuals aged 13 and over to have a rod fishing license to fish for freshwater species, which is also required on private land. A one-day licence costs as little as £7.30 and the fine can be as high as £2,500. The foreign secretary subsequently purchased a licence and notified the Environment Agency of his mistake. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “The foreign secretary has written to the Environment Agency over an administrative oversight that meant the appropriate licences had not been acquired for fishing on a private lake as part of a diplomatic engagement at Chevening House last week.” They added: “As soon as the foreign secretary was made aware of the administrative error, he successfully purchased the relevant rod fishing licences.” An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Everyone who goes fishing needs a licence to help improve our rivers, lakes and the sport anglers love, ” adding “we understand the relevant licences have been purchased.” While the foreign secretary did not catch any fish, Vance’s children were successful . Vance joked that was “unfortunately the one strain on the special relationship.” All the fish caught were subsequently returned to the lake. Vance praised Lammy as a “good friend” and “very, very gracious host” during their meeting. A Labour “source” told the Sun newspaper (which broke the story): “There’s nothing fishy to see here. The foreign secretary isn’t much of a fisherman but he landed a big diplomatic catch getting the vice president to stay for the weekend at Chevening.” During his trip, Vance has also met Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage, Shadow Justice Secretary and former Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick and Tory MP Danny Kruger, a leading opponent of proposed reforms to assisted dying laws.

LONDON — Campaigners leapt for joy when MPs voted to legalize assisted dying earlier this year. But they shouldn’t pop the champagne corks just yet. Backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill starts its journey through Britain’s unelected House of Lords next month after completing its Commons stages in June. A bumpy reception in the upper House is guaranteed — risking Brits’ ire if peers vote down the bill or take so long to scrutinize it that it runs out of time in this parliamentary session. Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision campaigner, Nathan Stilwell, said peers rejecting the bill “would be pretty disastrous for the House of Lords itself” because “the public image … would be quite difficult.” If the bill ran out of time, “it would just be egg on everyone’s faces,” Stilwell added. “The public would be furious.”  Opinion polling has repeatedly shown support among Brits for altering the current law, which threatens a person who helps another to die with 14 years in prison. After much debate and agonizing on both sides, the landmark vote by MPs in June resulted in 314 to 291 parliamentarians backing the right for terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months left to live to receive support to medically ending their lives. But now that verdict will come up against legislators who never have to face voters and won’t have a party whip telling them what to do. And opposing peers are already considering undoing the lower House’s decision. “It would be legitimate for the Lords to vote it down,” said Tory peer and opponent of the bill, Richard Balfe. “It is, after all, a matter of conscience.” UNSHACKLED BY CONVENTION  Under the Salisbury Convention, peers typically do not prevent legislation in a party’s manifesto from becoming law. Backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater when the bill she introduced passed its House of Commons stages in June 2025. | Neil Hall/EPA But Labour’s election-winning manifesto did not mention assisted dying — Starmer only promised time for a debate. Government ministers have taken a hands-off approach, with Leadbeater sponsoring the Private Member’s Bill (PMB) in the Commons and former Labour Justice Secretary Charlie Falconer taking the reins in the Lords. Despite losing the Commons battle, opponents haven’t given up the war and think there’s still everything to play for. Peers will have a second reading debate on Sept. 12, where 122 members are registered to speak. “If we had more time, then almost certainly we would have had a majority in favor of halting the bill,” said Alistair Thompson, a spokesperson for Care Not Killing, a campaign group which opposes assisted dying.  “We will get a much fuller and franker debate in the Lords without people who have genuine concerns being excluded,” Thompson argued. “This particular bill is a very bad one,” concurred Tory peer and opponent Mark Harper. The former cabinet minister claimed some MPs “both on and off the record … recognized that the bill is not in great shape and expect the House of Lords to improve it.” However, proponents want momentum from the Commons decision to continue — and are adamant that despite it not being in Labour’s election manifesto, peers shouldn’t override elected MPs. Members of the Lords will initially decide “whether they are inclined to reject it outright,” explained Hansard Society Director Ruth Fox, or push to amend the bill later on. Peers could theoretically vote the bill down at any stage, though the democratic legitimacy of this would raise eyebrows. BOGGED DOWN   If the bill passes its second reading, it will face pressure in committee stage, where it’s examined line by line, clause by clause.  “It is, after all, a matter of conscience,” said Tory peer and opponent of the bill, Richard Balfe. | Serhat Cagdas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Unlike the Commons, all peers can take part in the chamber where any amendment can be debated — without a time limit — and put to a vote, giving opponents the perfect opportunity to draw the process out. “There will need to be very, very significant changes to the legislation or the bill should not proceed,” said Thompson, highlighting the shift from a High Court judge overseeing applications to a multidisciplinary panel of three. Though MPs approved that change in the process, even supporters have raised their eyebrows.  “It’s not altogether rigorous,” admitted crossbench peer Martin Rees. “Replacing the judge by a committee is not necessarily a good thing.”  But backers are divided about what peers should do beyond approving the law.  “It’s quite hard to imagine that we will think of things that the Commons haven’t,” said Labour peer and supporter Dianne Hayter. “They seem to have done a very thorough job.”  One crossbench peer who backs assisted dying, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Leadbeater’s “seriously flawed” bill didn’t go far enough. They criticized people with long term health conditions not being eligible and the patient having to self-administer the final dose.  PARLIAMENTARY BOTTLENECK  Analysis of these technical and ethical subjects would be tricky, even with all the time in the world.  But while peers aren’t restricted to debating PMBs on Fridays, the government’s legislative agenda is bursting at the seams, with eight weighty bills currently clogging up the Lords. Peers have already proven willing to take their time assessing bills promised in Labour’s manifesto, including abolishing the 92 hereditary peers who sit in the Lords by birthright.  “From the government’s perspective, they’re stringing it out. They’re being difficult,” said Fox. “From the Conservatives’ perspective, they’re doing proper scrutiny.”   Opponents argue that proper scrutiny would demonstrate the law wasn’t fit for purpose. “It would be actually a dereliction of duty if the House of Lords didn’t force the proponents of this bill to actually think some of these things through,” argued Harper. WIND-UP TIME  The bill must pass all stages — including MPs considering amendments made in the Lords — by the end of the parliamentary session to become law. It’s a date nobody knows yet. While government bills can be carried over to the next session, this doesn’t happen for PMBs. “They use the end of the session as a way to force things through and persuade people to reach a consensus,” Fox explained, which is likely impossible on a topic like assisted dying.  She speculated the new session won’t start until next spring, which would be a “very long time” for opponents “to try and string things out.”  While the government is neutral on assisted dying, a majority of Labour MPs backed the bill — alongside most of Starmer’s cabinet. A written ministerial answer last month called the bill a government priority to disquiet from opponents — suggesting they want it to become law. While ministers resisted giving government time in the Commons, the lengthier Lords sessions could mean that offering government time becomes appealing for Starmer. Hayter didn’t believe the legislation should become a government bill, but, if “come December, January, people are playing silly buggers … there’s nothing wrong with the government making time available.”  But opponents were not concerned about public opinion: “We don’t have to go and face some group of electors.” argued Balfe. “They can’t just say, ‘Oh, I’ll never vote for you again,’ because they never voted for us in the first place.”

LONDON — Nobody likes a backseat driver. But what if the person trying to grab the wheel is a former prime minister? Britain has cycled through a stack of leaders in the past decade, leaving it with an unprecedented eight former PMs still standing — and frequently commenting on the person doing their old job. Just this weekend, Kemi Badenoch, leader of Britain’s battered Conservative Party, tried to distance herself from the troubled economic legacy of former Tory prime minister Liz Truss — provoking a howl of outrage from Truss herself. It’s unfortunate for Badenoch, as barely a day goes by without the Labour government raising the specter of Truss.  Prime Minister Keir Starmer has his own problems, with his Labour predecessors Tony Blair and Gordon Brown never far from the headlines, offering (largely) unsolicited advice. “You have incomplete prime ministers,” says historian Anthony Seldon, who has written books on many departed prime ministers, including “The Impossible Office? The History of the British Prime Minister.” “Some of them felt that their agenda wasn’t yet over.” “They still want to feel like they have a purpose,” said political communications adviser Laura Emily Dunn, who has worked for Conservative cabinet ministers. SECOND BITE OF THE CHERRY  Since Starmer won his landslide just over a year ago, the Blair and Brown interventions have come thick and fast. Blair has used his Institute for Global Change think tank to publish a flurry of policy papers, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence.  Just days before crucial local elections earlier this year, Blair set alarm bells ringing in Downing Street with lines in a report warning that a maximalist approach to net zero carbon emissions was “doomed to fail” — and that politicians needed to face “inconvenient facts.” Blair has used his Institute for Global Change think tank to publish a flurry of policy papers, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence. | Jessica Lee/EPA A Downing Street spokesperson said the government would reach net zero “in a way that treads lightly on people’s lives” and “not by telling them how to live or behave.” While admitting there were a “range of views,” No 10 says it sees net zero as an “enormous economic opportunity.” Gordon Brown, who left office in 2010, has unapologetically spoken out on social justice issues through tweets, books, op-eds and even guest editing an edition of the New Statesman magazine — often in ways that are unhelpful to the Starmer project. Most notably, he called for the abolition of the “cruel” Conservative-era two-child cap on social security payments, a view shared by many Labour backbenchers, despite the cash-strapped government’s public opposition to a U-turn. Labour insiders insist there’s no resentment about the ex-leaders opining. A former Labour adviser granted anonymity to speak candidly said: “There is no expectation from the leader of the Labour Party that previous prime ministers should somehow stay silent out of respect.” “They’ve been diplomatic, but it’s been pretty clear what they think,” says Stewart Wood, a Labour peer and former adviser to Brown. LIFE AFTER POWER The interventionist streak in Britain’s former prime ministers may be a consequence of the strange wilderness in which they are left to roam after leaving office. While they receive £115,000 annually for life, a permanent security detail and are expected to attend Remembrance Sunday commemorations at the Cenotaph, there is no official responsibility or equivalent of a U.S.-style presidential library to promote an ex-prime minister’s legacy.  That can leave former leaders feeling stuck on the sidelines. “There is a resource that the country could benefit from using … in some way,” says Wood. “These people did serve us and serve our country,” agrees Dunn.  “If they were to disappear into lonely retirement, that would be wrong.” For some prime ministers, the well-trodden path of writing a memoir and joining the speaking circuit is seemingly no longer enough. Even John Major, the reserved Conservative former PM who kept out of the spotlight during Blair and Brown’s tenure, re-entered the public fray during the Brexit years. | Will Oliver/EPA “There’s been a trend in modern prime ministers not to want[ing] to consult their predecessors,” argues Seldon, saying leaders often fail to assess the actions of those who came before them in office. “They justifiably see their successors falling into the same bear traps that they fell in.” Even John Major, the reserved Conservative former PM who kept out of the spotlight during Blair and Brown’s tenure, re-entered the public fray during the Brexit years. He became a frequent and strident critic of former prime minister Boris Johnson. More recently, he demanded the strengthening of parliamentary standards for rule breakers. Theresa May couldn’t resist wading in either by urging the U.K. to act on delivering net zero, while David Cameron had a full-scale political comeback as foreign secretary during the last eight months of the Tory government. For others, there’s a desire to settle old scores. Johnson and Truss both saw their premierships implode abruptly — leaving them with plenty of unfinished business. Johnson writes columns for the Daily Mail newspaper and hasn’t shied away from strident interventions attacking Starmer’s agenda, including a fresh blast at his Middle East policy in the past few days. Truss, Britain’s shortest serving prime minister, frequently opines on X about Starmer’s economic policies, as well as his approach to justice and free speech, as she fights to reshape her tarnished legacy.  Over the weekend, she laid into current Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch, accusing her of failing to talk about the “real failures of 14 years of Conservative government” and warning the same party that made Truss prime minister is now in “serious trouble.”  MAKING IT WORK So what makes a genuinely effective intervention from a former prime minister? “They have most influence when it’s least known publicly,” argues Peter Just, author of the book Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street. Just says public interventions can be a sign that advice given behind the scenes “is not being listened to.” Seldon says Rishi Sunak, Britain’s most recent former prime minister, is a rare exception who has managed life after Downing Street well. | Tolga Akmen/EPA Seldon says Rishi Sunak, Britain’s most recent former prime minister, is a rare exception who has managed life after Downing Street well. Now a backbench MP, his statements have been limited to supporting Ukraine and backing India during its conflict with Pakistan.  Just divides ex-PMs into statesmen and women who focus on “whether or not the subsequent government of any party is doing things in the right way or in the wrong way” and politicians who represent “a particular philosophy of the world.”  “If you’re a bit more strategic and a bit more infrequent in your interventions, maybe they’ll carry more punch,” says Kieran Pedley of polling firm Ipsos, who argues that too many contributions can dilute a message. Ultimately, effective prime ministers can simply ignore the back seat drivers and hit the gas. “You should just do the policies you want — and let politics deal with itself,” says a former Tory adviser.

LONDON — At least he’s outlasted Liz Truss.  Britain’s embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer swept into office on a landslide a year ago this Saturday. Turns out that was the easy part — and the Labour leader’s No.10 tenure seems to have only continued the volatile trend of British politics over the past decade. As the big anniversary approaches, let POLITICO take you on a stroll down memory lane. JULY 2024 Starmer enjoyed a blink-and-you ’ll-miss-it honeymoon. After winning that landslide victory, the newly-minted prime minister promised a “mission of national renewal” and an end to “self-serving and self-obsessed” politics. It worked — briefly. The PM got to stride the world stage at the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C. and got going with a king’s speech packed full of policies.  But this month also sowed the seeds for trouble to come — particularly on the social security front. The government removed the whip from seven Labour MPs who backed an end to Britain’s two-child welfare cap. More significantly still, Chancellor Rachel Reeves moved to restrict winter fuel payments to only the poorest pensioners — blaming a £22 billion black hole in the public finances left by the Tories. Success rating: 6/10. A confident-seeming start — but slashing winter fuel funding would only come back to haunt Starmer. AUGUST 2024 Starmer cancelled his summer holiday as Britain was hit by far-right rioting. It erupted after the murder of three schoolgirls. The PM’s tough crackdown — pulling on his record as the top prosecutor for England and Wales to deploy specialist police officers who quickly arrested and charged perpetrators — was largely commended, even if it triggered Elon Musk. Much less praised was “Freebiegate” — Labour’s first real ethics scandal, which saw heavy scrutiny of gifts and perks to ministers from Labour donors. Starmer then tried to buoy spirits with a … depressing speech in the Downing Street rose garden saying the pain would get worse. He later regretted that the speech had “squeezed the hope out.” You don’t say. The PM endured the treasury minister Tulip Siddiq resigning amid a Bangladesh corruption probe, and he got a threat from Liz Truss, who insisted she’d get the lawyers in if he kept saying she crashed the economy. | Andy Rain/EPA Success rating: 5/10. A decisive response to rioting soon got overshadowed by a sleaze row. SEPTEMBER 2024 In a bid to maintain support for Ukraine, Starmer went to Washington pleading for then-U.S. president Joe Biden to let Kyiv use Storm Shadow missiles to strike inside Russia. The PM came away empty-handed — but did at least get to dine with Donald Trump. That turned out to be a shrewd move. Starmer made an erm, interesting intervention in another seemingly intractable overseas conflict by … demanding the “return of the [Israeli] sausages” during his speech at Labour conference. Success rating: 6/10. Starmer’s unfortunate gaffe aside, building the Trump link early certainly did him no harm. OCTOBER 2024 Now for the proper drama. No. 10 was thrown into fresh turmoil when Sue Gray quit as Starmer’s chief of staff after just three months.  A former civil service big beast, Gray’s position became untenable after multiple briefings against her. Elections guru Morgan McSweeney succeeded Gray. He would quickly run into his own problems in managing No. 10 effectively. The PM at least got to flee to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting with King Charles. He then flew back into a major economic moment as Reeves gave her first budget, which changed farming inheritance tax rules, hiked national insurance contributions and saw £40 billion in tax rises. It got a mixed verdict, with Labour MPs happy with more health, education and defense funding, plus a boost to the minimum wage. Reeves’ decisions were the clearest indication the Labour administration would be different from the Tories. Success rating: 5/10. No.10 in turmoil, but hey, I got to hang out with the king. NOVEMBER 2024 Donald Trump decisively won a second term as U.S. president — forcing world leaders everywhere to adapt to the new reality. Starmer rang Trump the very same day. In a bid to maintain support for Ukraine, Starmer went to Washington pleading for then-U.S. president Joe Biden to let Kyiv use Storm Shadow missiles to strike inside Russia. | Leszek Szymanski/EPA The PM, meanwhile, authorized Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles targeted at Russia. He met Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time at the G20 in Brazil — and insisted human rights issues were raised. The month also saw Starmer’s first cabinet resignation when Louise Haigh quit as transport secretary over a historic fraud conviction. The swift change of personnel was brutal — showing Starmer can be ruthless when he wants to be. Success rating: 7/10. Starmer seemed more decisive at home and abroad. DECEMBER 2024 Six months in? Time for a “don’t call it a reset” reset speech.  Alongside five missions and three foundations, the PM gave a speech unveiling six milestones on which voters should judge him. He promised higher disposable income, more police and making children “school-ready.” No pressure. Starmer also started to generate “air miles Keir” headlines with overseas trips to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Norway and Estonia. The PM also managed his first holiday since the general election, heading to Madeira with his family. Success rating: 7/10. No massive drama here — and a break must have been nice. JANUARY 2025 A new year dawned, but the challenges kept piling up. X owner and then-Trump ally Elon Musk launched a tirade against Starmer’s government for perceived inaction on grooming gangs responsible for child sexual exploitation. Though Starmer commissioned an audit, the PM lambasted what he called a “far-right bandwagon” jumping on events for their own gain. That position would look shaky later. The PM endured the treasury minister Tulip Siddiq resigning amid a Bangladesh corruption probe, and he got a threat from Liz Truss, who insisted she’d get the lawyers in if he kept saying she crashed the economy. The remainder of the short-serving Tory former PM’s legacy won’t have done him much harm. Success rating: 5/10. The world’s richest man swept into British politics to Starmer’s detriment and upended the news agenda. The grooming gangs issue would not go away. Expectations for Keir Starmer’s first meeting with Donald Trump in the White House were pretty low. | Pool Photo by Ludovic Marin via EPA FEBRUARY 2025 Expectations for Starmer’s first meeting with Trump in the White House were pretty low. The center-left legal eagle and the brash Republican game show host are not natural allies. But the PM managed to play the game deftly, offering the U.S. president a second state visit invite from King Charles himself. Trump, in turn, praised Starmer’s “beautiful accent” and insisted he could work out any trade differences with the U.K. Starmer even managed to shut opinionated Vice President JD Vance up for a bit. The PM pre-empted the trip with a Trump-pleasing vow to hike defense spending. However, that came with a cost — development minister Anneliese Dodds quit, warning that funding the pledge by cutting overseas aid would cause real harm to the most vulnerable.  Success rating: 7/10. Starmer defied expectations to storm his Oval Office meeting — but lost a government ally. MARCH 2025 Just a day after Starmer’s own visit, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a nightmare encounter in the Oval Office as he was publicly belittled by Trump and Vance. While other world leaders tweeted their concern, the PM literally hugged Zelenskyy close, hosting a London Summit about Ukraine’s future and helping gin up a “coalition of the willing” to guarantee peace after any deal with Russia. A lack of any U.S. buy-in for this one means the jury is very much still out, although Starmer managed to move without enraging the White House. Far trickier for Starmer this month was the unveiling of a host of welfare cuts. The measures were initially announced in Reeves’ spring statement — and an impact assessment laid bare the potential impact on families, storing up huge problems for later. Success rating: 5/10. International wins — but big domestic trouble brewing. APRIL 2025 The special relationship didn’t shield Britain from Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. The U.K. still faced the brunt of the U.S. president’s trade levies (even if Starmer later bagged carve-outs that would elude the EU). In one of the most dramatic moments of his premiership so far, parliament was also recalled for a rare Saturday sitting as it approved rapid-fire legislation effectively nationalizing a key steel plant in Scunthorpe. It was a decisive moment that has saved jobs — even if big questions remain about the site’s future. Success rating: 8/10. Starmer got through the tariff troubles and protected a key domestic industry. A dreadful set of local elections saw Labour lose hundreds of councillors and Nigel Farage’s Reform U.K. win many councils. | Neil Hall/EPA MAY 2025 A dreadful set of local elections saw Labour lose hundreds of councillors and Nigel Farage’s Reform U.K. win many councils. It set off soul-searching in the Labour ranks and made clear Farage is now the biggest rival to Labour. Sensing the threat, Starmer gave a speech about controlling migration which warned of a Britain becoming an “island of strangers.” The PM later said he “deeply regrets” using the term. On overseas affairs, Starmer had some wins: a long-coveted trade agreement with India (complete with a row about tax on Indian workers), a decently-received “reset” with the EU, and a much-hyped trade deal with the U.S. that got Trump purring but which left plenty of holes to be filled in. The controversial agreement to hand over control of the Chagos Islands was also signed — angering figures on the right but at least without triggering Team Trump. Success rating: 4/10. Labour got a decisive thumbs down from voters, which is hard to offset with some trade deal progress. JUNE 2025 Starmer was allowed a small cheer when Scottish Labour unexpectedly won a Holyrood by-election. But that was as good as it got. A flurry of defense, national security and China reviews allowed Starmer to highlight challenges Britain faced — while fears of a huge flare-up in the Middle East haven’t yet come to fruition after Trump deployed U.S. bombers in Iran. But June will forever be the month of U-turns. Reeves confirmed that far more pensioners will get winter fuel payments after a major voter backlash. Starmer also announced a national grooming gang inquiry — and made huge welfare concessions when more than 100 Labour MPs made clear they couldn’t support the proposals. Even that wasn’t enough (see next month). After a bitter battle, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s bill paving the way for assisted dying passing the Commons. It’s a change Starmer has long personally backed. Success rating: 5/10. Few remember reviews. Everyone remembers U-turns. JULY 2025 Arguably Starmer’s worst month to date — and it isn’t even five days old. The £5 billion Rachel Reeves was hoping to save from welfare vanished into thin air just an hour before the package was voted on, as the government filleted its own bill in the wake of a major rebellion. It raised huge questions about Starmer’s judgment and the make up of his top team. The £5 billion Rachel Reeves was hoping to save from welfare vanished into thin air just an hour before the package was voted on. | Will Oliver/EPA Markets wobbled the next day as Chancellor Rachel Reeves cried in the House of Commons over a “personal issue” — and Starmer declined to give her his long-term backing before fulsomely doing so in a mop-up interview later that night. Just another normal day. Success rating: 2/10. At least parliamentary recess is coming up.