Popularity plummeted
After losing the confidence of his MPs and key cabinet members, Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation as prime minister outside Downing Street on Monday. BBC Verify examines the record of his government in key areas such as immigration and energy bills since he took office in July 2024.
In August 2024, just a month after taking office, a YouGov poll indicated that only 36% of people believed Sir Keir was performing well as prime minister, while 43% thought he was doing badly, resulting in a net popularity rating of minus 7.
By this month, 74% of respondents said he was doing badly, compared to 18% who thought he was doing well, suggesting his net popularity had declined to minus 56.
Polling from Ipsos also suggests Sir Keir's personal ratings among voters fell below those of his recent predecessors, including Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, and Theresa May.
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Economic growth picked up
Labour's manifesto pledged to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7, which includes the US, UK, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, and Canada.
Between the second quarter of 2024—just before Labour took office—and the first quarter of 2026, data from the OECD suggests the UK economy grew by 2.3% in total, faster than all other G7 nations except the US, which grew by 3.7% over the same period.
The UK economy registered the fastest growth among G7 nations in the first quarter of 2026, expanding by 0.6%.
However, most forecasters do not expect this performance to continue, partly due to the energy shock caused by the US conflict with Iran.
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) latest forecast projects UK GDP growth for 2026 at 0.8%, which is lower than the forecast for the US (2.3%), Canada (1.5%), and France (0.9%). The IMF also anticipates weaker growth for the UK compared to the US and Canada in 2027.
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Immigration fell
Regarding small boat crossings, Sir Keir pledged to
"smash the gangs"behind them, but these Channel crossings have continued during his premiership.
Last year's total was the second highest after 2022's peak under the previous Conservative government, and total crossings during his premiership have surpassed 200,000 since 2018.
However, there are indications of a slowdown in arrivals. The number of crossings detected so far in 2026 is down 40% compared to the same period in 2025.
Under Labour, overall immigration to the UK and net migration (the difference between immigration and emigration) have both decreased significantly.
According to the most recent official estimates for 2025, net migration was 171,000, down 48% from the previous year and down from a peak annual rate of 944,000 in 2023 under the Conservatives.
NHS waiting lists down
On health, Sir Keir pledged that 92% of patients in England would be seen within 18 weeks by the end of the Parliament.
The latest official data for April 2026 shows 65% of patients being seen within that timeframe, up from 58.9% in June 2024, the month before Labour took office.
The overall number of waits for treatment in England in April was 7.22 million, down from 7.62 million in June 2024, a decrease of 400,000.
Energy bills up
Labour promised to reduce average household energy bills by more than £300 over the course of the Parliament, but in reality, bills have increased.
The latest domestic energy price cap set by Ofgem, the energy regulator, for summer 2026 is an annual rate of £1,862 for a typical household. This partly reflects the impact of global events such as the Iran war.
This represents an increase of just under £300 from the £1,568 price cap in place in summer 2024, which Labour inherited.
Benefit spending increased
Sir Keir attempted to curb the rising working-age welfare bill but was forced by his own backbenchers to retreat in June 2025.
The latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) indicate the total UK welfare bill, including the state pension, will rise from 10.7% of UK GDP in 2024-25 to 11.1% by 2029-30.
A major driver of this increase is projected to be health and disability welfare payments to working-age adults, particularly more grants of Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
The total working-age adult health and disability benefit bill is forecast to rise from £58.2bn in 2024-25 to £78.1bn in 2029-30.
Sir Keir also legislated to remove the two-child limit on Universal Credit.
The official impact assessment suggests this will result in 450,000 fewer children in relative poverty—after housing costs—by the end of the Parliament than would otherwise have been the case.
Additional reporting by Tom Edgington, Becky Dale, Aidan McNamee, Jess Carr, Wesley Stephenson, Christine Jeavans, and Daniel Wainwright.
From triumph to turmoil: the story of Sir Keir Starmer’s time in Number 10.
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