Keir Starmer’s Premiership Ends with Mixed Legacy as UK Prime Minister

Keir Starmer stepped down as UK prime minister after two years in Downing Street, marking the end of a tenure that struggled with a £22 billion fiscal shortfall inherited from the previous government. His administration introduced a series of U‑turns, including the scrapping of winter fuel payments for pensioners not on benefits, reductions in foreign‑aid spending, and the controversial welfare‑reform U‑turn that failed to curb claimant growth.

Public sentiment fell sharply, with approval polls ranging from 18 % to 36 % by late summer. The government also faced violent riots after the Southport murders and criticism over gifts from donor Lord Alli. Despite these setbacks, Starmer’s legacy includes the passage of the Hillsborough law, reforms to renters’ rights, enhanced worker protections, NHS improvements, the removal of the two‑child benefit limit, and measures to lift children out of poverty. His record on House of Lords reform saw a record number of peer appointments, while his foreign‑policy profile led some allies to suggest a future role such as NATO secretary‑general. The outgoing prime minister will remain on the backbenches pending the next election.