Has the U.K. Become Ungovernable?

"Just over a year and a half later, Starmer's tenure is already in shambles. His leadership has been marked by stagnancy and indecisiveness, with Starmer becoming known for backtracking on politically difficult decisions involving welfare, property taxes, immigration, and more. Key staffers have resigned or been fired."

"In polls, Labour continues to lose ground to parties on the left, like the Greens, and, more ominously, to those on the hard right, most notably Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK party, which is now the most popular in the country. The prime minister's approval rating sounds south of 20 percent."

"Since Brexit, which Britons approved in a referendum almost a decade ago, the U.K. has cycled through five prime ministers, including Starmer, none of whom have yet lasted much more than three years, and none of whom achieved enduring popularity."

Keir Starmer assumed office in 2024 following Labour's decisive election victory, ending fourteen years of Conservative rule. However, his tenure has rapidly deteriorated due to indecisiveness and repeated policy backtracking on welfare, property taxes, and immigration. Key staff resignations and dismissals have compounded leadership instability. The Epstein scandal has further damaged his credibility, resulting in his chief of staff's departure and calls for his resignation after appointing Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador. Labour hemorrhages support to both left-wing Greens and right-wing Reform UK, with Farage's party now leading in popularity. Starmer's approval rating has plummeted below twenty percent. This political turmoil reflects broader British instability since Brexit, with five prime ministers in a decade achieving neither longevity nor sustained popularity.

Read at Intelligencer