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Sir Keir Starmer has used his first New Year message as UK prime minister to promise “a year of rebuilding” for Britain in 2025, conceding: “There is still so much more to do.”
In the first such message by a Labour premier in 15 years, Starmer signalled the challenges ahead by saying that his administration had begun “the work of change”.
Despite a rocky start to his government, the prime minister pointed to early achievements, including a record increase in the minimum wage, more returns of foreign national criminals, big investment in clean energy projects and more than £25bn earmarked for the National Health Service.
The early months of Starmer’s premiership have been overshadowed by a freebies row, a summer of race riots and an autumn Budget that raised taxes by £40bn a year.
Labour’s landslide election victory in July gave it 411 seats and almost total command of the House of Commons while reducing the Conservative party to a rump of just 119 MPs after 14 years in power.
Yet the latest aggregate of opinion polls has shown Labour languishing at just 27 per cent, with the Tories not far behind on 25 per cent and the right-wing Reform UK closing the gap on 22 per cent.
Now, Downing Street hopes it can win around a sceptical public by delivering on concrete issues such as cutting NHS waiting lists, getting more homes built and delivering more green energy schemes.
“For many people it’s hard to think about the future when you spend all of your time fighting to get through the week,” said Starmer.
“So I want to be clear. Until you can look forward and believe in the promise and the prosperity of Britain again, then this government will fight for you . . . every waking hour.”
The prime minister is on his first holiday since the general election, having delayed his short break after the death of his brother Nick on Boxing Day.
Starmer reiterated his central targets of 1.5mn new homes, creating a more secure energy system, improving pre-school support, slashing health waiting lists, cutting immigration and tackling antisocial behaviour in communities.
“That is what we will be focusing on. A year of rebuilding . . . a nation that gets things done. No matter how hard or tough the circumstances,” he said.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she would be introducing a “period of change” for her party. “This process of renewal will be a long-term project,” she said in a New Year message. “Things may be bumpy along the way, but the party I now lead is going to do things differently. Watch this space.”
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK — which only won five seats in July’s election but has since surged in the polls — used his New Year message to espouse his values of “family, community and country”, promising to make Britain a “better place”.
Farage said he had begun 2024 in “semi-retirement” with two grandchildren on the way.
But he had been inspired into returning to front-line politics by his desire for “proper border controls”, tackling the cost of living crisis and reducing net zero climate initiatives.
“Everybody acknowledges we have made a real impact over the course of these last six months,” he said. “We believe we can turn this country around by 180 degrees and make Britain a much better place.”
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, who won 72 seats in July — the party’s biggest haul in its 36-year history — meanwhile called on the government to implement “real change” on everything from the NHS to care to Europe and political reform.
Davey said he had “genuine hope” for 2025 but warned of “so much instability and insecurity — all made worse by Donald Trump’s victory in November.”
