Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column. What does a far-right gal have to do to get a quiet day at work in this political world? Surely, that’s what Italian Prime Minister and Trump-whisperer Giorgia Meloni must have been wondering as her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán came to Rome this week. The Hungarian leader was on a mission to chew bubble gum and make erratic statements to the media — and it appears he was all out of gum. Italian media had a field day covering the meeting, splashing headlines about Palazzo Chigi’s “embarrassment” over how to handle the awkward friendship. And Meloni’s coalition partners weren’t shy either: “We have different ideas,” said Forza Italia leader — and man deeply devoted to his summer holidays — Antonio Tajani of the Hungarian prime minister. Poor Giorgia. Imagine spending most of your time at work trying to stop your international teammates — all with authoritarian ambitions, a flair for the dramatic and extremely thin skin — from accidentally starting another war, trade or otherwise, by offending one another. Or merely pointing out someone’s bronzer is fading. Then Orbán showed up at her door, turned to the cameras, and announced that U.S. President and makeup enthusiast Donald Trump “has gone too far” with his sanctions on Russian oil. Orbán vowed he would personally fly to Washington to talk the American leader out of them and fix the situation himself — like a real strongman would. And to make sure no world leaders felt left out, Orbán then pivoted to Europe, declaring that the EU “has no role” and is “out of the game” when it comes to Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be thrilled. Giorgia must have been exhausted by this point — and that was all on day one. She had probably hoped Orbán would have at least started the day on a holier note considering his morning began at the Vatican, but to no avail. “I’ve asked His Holiness to support Hungary’s peace efforts,” Orbán said of his meeting with the Pope. One can only imagine the pontiff’s reaction, likely a mix of shock and confusion as he restrained himself from questioning the Hungarian leader’s definition of “peace.” Next time, he might just call Giorgia and ask her to mediate. CAPTION COMPETITION “My hat might say USA, but my body says YMCA.” Can you do better? Email us at pdallison@politico.eu or get in touch on X @POLITICOEurope. Last week, we gave you this photo: Thanks for all the entries. Here’s the best one from our mailbag — there’s no prize except the gift of laughter, which I think we can all agree is far preferable to cash or booze. “World domination, one coloring book at a time.” by Val Flynn

CAGLIARI, Italy — Sardinia is one of the world’s most beautiful islands, which raises the question: Where is everyone? Not tourists — there are plenty of those — but locals. The island’s population is 1.57 million, down from 1.64 million three decades ago, but half live in its two largest urban areas, while smaller towns and villages are withering. The big problem is that people aren’t having babies. With an average of 1.18 children per woman, Italy has one of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union. Sardinia recorded the lowest rate in Italy, at 0.91 children per woman. Just to keep a population stable, women should have an average of 2.1 children. High unemployment on the island and better job prospects elsewhere are doing the rest, emptying dozens of villages of their young people. “The last child was born here 10 years ago,” said Maria Anna Camedda, the mayor of Baradili, Sardinia’s smallest village with a population of 76. The place is tiny — less than 500 meters separates the “Welcome to Baradili” sign from the one marking the end of the village, which is well-maintained and adorned with photos — like a big family house. The risk of places like Baradili becoming ghost towns is prompting the island to try to lure in newcomers. A couple moving to a Sardinian village of fewer than 3,000 residents can receive up to €15,000 to purchase or renovate a home, up to €20,000 to start a business that creates local jobs, and a monthly subsidy of €600 for their first child plus €400 for each subsequent child until they turn 5. These incentives are part of an anti-depopulation package introduced by the island. They come on top of local emergency measures, such as the municipality of Ollolai’s offer of €1 houses for newcomers. Despite the incentives, migrants are snubbing the island. The risk of places like Baradili becoming ghost towns is prompting the island to try and lure in newcomers. | Tommaso Lecca/POLITICO Romania, Senegal, Morocco, China and Ukraine are the home countries of roughly half of the 52,000 foreigners residing in Sardinia, which is about 3.3 percent of the island’s population. The national average is 8.9 percent. In 2022, the number of foreigners moving to Sardinia did not account for even a quarter of the population decline that occurred that year. The Italian demographic winter, which is even tougher in Sardinia, recently forced Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government to allow 500,000 foreign workers into the country over the next three years. But the population collapse remains stark in small communities like Baradili. Over 30 years ago, the village closed its one-room primary school, in which all 15 local children, ranging in age from 6 to 10, learned together. Baradili and nearby villages opted for a rotating school system in which children attend classes in three different villages throughout the year. A free bus picks them up every morning. Attending high school or reaching a hospital is much harder, as both services are over 30 kilometers away. The challenges of serving communities like Baradili prompted Meloni’s government to acknowledge in the recent National Strategic Plan for Internal Areas that some parts of the country “cannot set themselves any goals for reversing the [depopulation] trend, but neither can they be left to their own devices.” The document proposed setting up “a targeted plan to assist them in a process of chronic decline and aging.” This wording provoked indignation, even among 140 Catholic Church representatives, who denounced the government’s plan as “support for a happy death” of villages. But Camedda is not impressed. “It was simply put down in black and white what the government — not just this government — has been doing for several decades,” she said. Baradili is doing everything it can to survive. It introduced a €10,000 subsidy on top of the incentives granted at the regional level. The village is served by a swimming pool, a football field, tennis and padel courts and even a motorhome park. In 2022, Baradili celebrated the arrival of four families, which brought nine new residents. EXPAT CAVALRY While many young Sardinians are leaving small rural villages to embrace urban life, some expats are taking the opposite direction. Ivo Rovira, a Spanish photographer working for the America’s Cup sailing competition, ended up in his new home village of Armungia by chance. In 2023 he spent several months in Cagliari, the capital city of Sardinia, snapping photos for the Italian sailboat Luna Rossa. “One day, in January, I was driving toward the interior of the island looking for some snow. I arrived in Armungia, a place I had never heard of before.” Rovira’s photographer’s eye was captivated by the landscape of the village, which has fewer than 400 residents. Ivo Rovira, a Spanish photographer working for the America’s Cup sailing competition, ended up in his new home village of Armungia by chance. | Tommaso Lecca/POLITICO “I parked the car and went for a walk. I found a house in the historic center with a ‘For Sale’ banner. Ten days later, I put down a deposit to buy it,” he said. After renovating the old house, which used to be a wine shop but had sat empty for 30 years, Rovira and his wife, Ana Ponce, moved to Armungia permanently. They also set up a restaurant that is open a few days per month, depending on demand. “It takes half an hour to drive to a supermarket along winding roads, but there is an international airport an hour away,” he said. “We don’t feel like digital nomads; we are real Armungians,” Rovira added. Bianca Fontana, an Australian with Italian roots, dreamed of moving to Italy after the pandemic. She joined a friend who was staying in Nulvi, a town of around 2,500 — larger than some tiny communities, but still eligible for the regional grants. A historical photo of the Secci family store, the house purchased by Ivo Rovira. Courtesy of the Sa Domu de is Ainas – Armungia Ethnographic Museum Collection. | Tommaso Lecca/POLITICO “I bought a house within two weeks. And I moved here about six months later,” Fontana said. She grew up in a country town in Australia before living in London and Shanghai. “I did get to a point where I was feeling quite exhausted in bigger cities, and I wanted to find a smaller, quieter place,” she said. Fontana now talks about her new life in Sardinia on her YouTube channel, which has over 3,000 subscribers. Many of them regularly comment on her videos about renovation grants, work on her own house, archaeological excursions and local wine. There is also an effort to keep locals from leaving. Marcello Contu left Sardinia at the age of 18 to move to Turin, and then lived in Barcelona and Australia. Bianca Fontana sits in front of a mural in the village of Nulvi. Courtesy of Bianca Fontana. | Tommaso Lecca/POLITICO But then he moved to the 120-person village of Bidonì to start a vegan cheese-making business. “The artisanal production of plant-based cheeses requires great attention, waiting times, experimentation, and daily care that are difficult to reconcile with chaotic environments,” he said. Contu’s products are now available in dozens of restaurants and shops across Sardinia and the rest of Italy. “Geographical isolation and a lack of services translate into a constant practical challenge: Sourcing raw materials or making deliveries often requires long journeys, with longer times and higher costs than for those working in better-connected areas,” he said. But Contu believes that small villages can become “ideal places for developing craft, creative, and sustainability-related activities, because they offer what large cities have often lost: time, spaces on a human scale, authentic relationships, and a strong connection with the local area and nature.” Rovira and Fontana are also impressed by the capacity of Sardinian villagers to stick together. Ivo Rovira and Ana Ponce in front of their new house in Armungia. | Tommaso Lecca/POLITICO Rovira was once told by a neighbor: “We live in such a small village that if we don’t help each other, we’re dead.” REALLY, REALLY CHEAP HOUSES Ollolai made a name for itself as the town of €1 houses — a project that started in 2016. According to Francesco Columbu, the local mayor, about 100,000 people registered interest in the €1 houses, but the municipality could only accommodate a few aspiring Ollolai residents. The scheme acts as an intermediary between owners of old houses — often split across different families of heirs — and those seeking to obtain them for peanuts. As a result, only a handful of foreign families have obtained a €1 house. Meanwhile, the village has continued to lose inhabitants, dropping from 1,300 when the offer began to 1,150 now. “While it’s possible that a cultured American or German who loves stone architecture or that of another Sardinian village moves there, this does not create the economic benefits needed to solve problems,” said Anna Maria Colavitti, professor of urban planning at the University of Cagliari. Colavitti analyzed the results of the €1 houses, concluding that they “alone are not enough, just as incentives for having kids are not enough,” she said. Colavitti’s study also showed that new owners sometimes decide to resell the €1 property at the same price they paid for it because they cannot afford the higher-than-expected renovation costs or are dissatisfied with their choice. But the mayor of Ollolai keeps fighting with the tools he has. “Ollolai will not die so easily. The inland villages of Sardinia have seen their fair share of crises. They went through periods of plague in the 1600s … yet they recovered,” Columbu said. “We have a better quality of life, and we’re an hour away from some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I say the beautiful things will never die.”

JALË, Albania — Three and a half hours south of the capital Tirana, a winding road leads down to a 300-meter beach with crystal blue waters and pebbly sand. Here, on the edge of the Ionian Sea, visitors can rent a sunbed for €10, assuming they find parking along the dirt road and don’t mind being within arm’s length of their neighbor.  Ten years ago, the spot was a hidden gem for locals who would camp on the beach — for free. Now, both sides of the road are lined with construction sites, and a big developer promises to make the once-sleepy village a luxury hideaway for the world’s elites. Jalë’s stark shift from a natural and somewhat undiscovered paradise to a hot tourist destination is a microcosm of Albania’s surge in popularity — and the accompanying social and environmental issues the country is facing.  A PROMISING START While much of the world was still in lockdown from the Covid pandemic, Albania opened its doors to visitors in July 2020. Tourists eager to look at something other than their own four walls quickly answered the call, with over 5.6 million traveling to Albania in 2021 — a 114 percent increase over 2020.  But it wasn’t just the open borders that drew people in.  Other European hotspots, such as Italy, Spain and Portugal, were becoming increasingly expensive; Albania offered nature and world-class beaches at a fraction of the cost. Back in 2020, a night in a beachfront hotel with breakfast in August could cost as little as €30, and sunbeds started from €3. While some travelers found their way to Tirana and the beaches through word of mouth, social media lit a fire under the idea of holidaying in Albania. In 2024 Albania had more than 3.8 million posts on Instagram with over 106 billion views, catching up with neighboring and long-established destinations like Italy and Greece. What had been a steady flow of visitors became a flood. In 2023, a record 10 million tourists came — a 35 percent year-on-year increase, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics. In 2024, 11.7 million visited — another record representing a 15 percent increase, according to Tourism Minister Mirela Kumbaro. This year, the government hopes for more than 15 million — all in a country with a population of only 2.7 million. With visitors now generating about 8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and creating tens of thousands of jobs, one of the poorest countries in Europe can’t easily kick the tourism habit. Europeans comprise the majority of visitors, with Germans, Italians, Poles and French topping the list, local media reported. Unlike other European destinations such as Italy or France, Albania is a smaller country where visitors can explore mountains and beaches in a single day. It also lives in people’s minds as “wild and free and something that you don’t have in Europe,” said Denada Jushi, an Albanian journalist who has covered the country’s rise as a tourist destination.   CONSTRUCTION BONANZA  Government officials seeking to propel Albania into a prime tourist destination have exempted international hoteliers from corporate income tax for 10 years if they build four-star or five-star hotels. The tax initiative was introduced in 2019 but was extended earlier this year until 2027.  “These are major investments,” Blendi Klosi, the member of parliament who proposed the extension, told Albanian media. “This initiative benefits only a specific segment of the sector—those aiming to raise the industry to higher standards.”  The scheme has worked well. Several international brands, such as Marriott International, Meliá Hotels International and Radisson Hotel Group, have opened up, while U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is set to turn an Albanian island into a luxury retreat. Critics warn, however, that the beaches lack sufficient space to accommodate the visitors that such resorts would bring to the area, and that nature is being destroyed in the name of tourism. Already, Vlora Airport, which is set to open soon in the south of the country, has caused controversy over its proximity to a protected area. At the same time, funneling water from inland to the coastal resorts to meet demand has irked activists and locals alike, sparking protests. “Greed has replaced sensible planning — and, for that matter, love of the land, nature, and the homeland,” said Alfred Lela, spokesperson for the opposition Democratic Party.  TOO BIG, TOO FAST  Thrill-seekers can still find less developed parts of Albania to explore, but the days of dirt-cheap trips to the country are largely over.   The average spend per visitor increased 20 percent year-on-year in 2024, with tourists spending €5 billion in the country that year. Experts and businesses argue that more demand means more pressure on supply chains and increased costs from importing goods. And as costs rise, the locals who once frequented the beaches and nature are being pushed out. But it’s not just the higher prices that are giving people pause. “Trash is becoming a big, big problem everywhere. None of the municipalities are able to keep up or do recycling,” said Arben Kola, a tour guide and environmentalist.  Several Facebook groups dedicated to tourism in Albania feature posts from visitors complaining about trash along roadsides or on shorelines, along with laments about construction and high prices. Albania was once “something wild — just camping, youth, fun and nature,” said Jushi, the journalist. “It’s like Monaco now. There’s no space for locals.” 

The European quarter is empty, businesses are closed, and MEPs are gone — it’s the perfect time to catch up on your summer reading. There’s no one left in the bubble to impress. So put down that dull policy non-paper (who came up with that name?) you pretended to enjoy, and treat yourself to something actually fun. And if you need some inspiration? POLITICO brings you book recommendations from officials, readers, our own reporters, politicians and other bubble insiders. If you’d prefer to listen to this article, you can do so in the latest episode of the EU Confidential — where you’ll also find a complete list of our book tips. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative, doesn’t take a break from foreign policy, even in her reading choices. She recommends picking up Peter Hopkirk’s The Great Game, a historical book accounting the 19th-century power struggle between the Russian and British empires in Central Asia, as well as Do Not Disturb by journalist Michela Wrong, which delves into the political landscape of Rwanda. From across the Atlantic, Kallas suggests a book called The Situation Room by George Stephanopoulos, an adviser to former U.S. president Bill Clinton and co-host of Good Morning America, and author Lisa Dickey. And for a deep dive into how modern authoritarian regimes work, she points to Anne Applebaum’s Autocracy, Inc. Glenn Micallef, the EU Culture and Sport commissioner, told POLITICO he is reading I Giorni di Vetro (The Days of Glass), a book by Nicoletta Verna about the lives of two very different women set in Italy during the rise of fascism. Micallef also recommends a collection of short stories from Pierre Mejlak, an author from Malta, called What the Night Lets You Say. From Sweden, minister for EU affairs Jessica Rosencrantz recommends Human Acts from Nobel Prize winner Han Kang. The book draws from the Gwangju uprising, a series of student-led demonstrations in the 1980s against the dictatorship that were brutally suppressed. Your POLITICO Confidential host, Sarah Wheaton, recommends reading a poetry collection, There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die, from Danish author Tove Ditlevsen. As an American living in Europe and going back to the U.S. for holidays, Sarah also recommends a popular book, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, by Bill Bryson, who details his readjustment to American culture after 20 years in England. If you care to read something really different, check out H is for Hawk from hawk enthusiast Helen Macdonald. A book that Sarah describes as “genre-bending” is partly a nature writing story, partly a spiritual journey, and partly a biography of Arthurian novelist T. H. White that Macdonald wrote as she was trying to tame a hawk she got while dealing with grief when her father died. Dionisios Sturis, POLITICO’s Confidential producer, advises reading Olga Tokarczuk’s latest book, The Empusium. This time, the renowned Polish novelist has written a horror story set in a health resort in the Silesian mountains, inspired by Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, and told in a collective “we” voice. Dionis also recommends Elizabeth Strout’s Tell Me Everything, a book that combines the art of storytelling and small-town drama. Sarah Wheaton and Dionisios Sturis contributed to this report.

First published on CagleCartoons.com, June 29, 2025 | By Christopher Weyant First published on CagleCartoons.com, June 25, 2025 | By Graeme MacKay First published on CagleCartoons.com, July 2, 2025 | By Michael de Adder

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.