Alex Rowland

If people genuinely believe Burnham won’t receive the exact same media onslaught, they’ve not been paying attention. Starmer is not, objectively, bad. This idea that he is somehow the worst PM in British history is frankly laughable. Liz truss lasted 49 days, crashed the pound and was laughed out of Downing Street. Since Labour took office, Keir Starmer’s government has: • Scrapped the two-child benefit limit, lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and putting money back into some of the hardest-pressed households in the country. • Expanded free school meals, cutting costs for families and making sure more children get a proper meal during the school day. • Expanded funded childcare, reducing one of the biggest monthly costs facing working parents and making it easier for people to stay in work. • Raised the National Living Wage, increasing pay for millions of low-paid workers. • Strengthened workers’ rights, giving people greater protection against insecure work and bad employers. • Introduced statutory sick pay from the first day of illness, so workers are less likely to choose between their health and their wages. • Ended no-fault evictions, giving renters more security in their homes. • Brought rail operators back into public ownership, taking key services out of failed private hands and giving the public a stronger stake in how they are run. • Cut NHS waiting lists from their post-pandemic peak, meaning more patients are being seen sooner. • Raised the state pension through the triple lock, protecting pensioners’ incomes against rising costs. • Scrapped the old non-dom tax regime, making some of the wealthiest people in the country pay more fairly. • Added VAT to private school fees, raising money from those most able to contribute. • Removed business rates relief from private schools, ending an unjustified tax break. • Increased neighbourhood policing, putting more officers and PCSOs back into communities. • Helped bring knife crime down, meaning fewer families face the devastation of serious violence. • Recorded the lowest homicide rate since the 1970s, a material improvement in public safety. • Created Great British Energy, giving Britain a publicly owned clean energy company. • Created the National Wealth Fund, backing investment in industry, infrastructure and clean energy. • Passed planning reforms aimed at getting homes and major projects built faster. • Improved relations with the EU, reducing diplomatic hostility and rebuilding practical cooperation. • Agreed a UK-EU security partnership, strengthening cooperation on defence and European security. • Signed a long-term partnership with Ukraine, reinforcing Britain’s support against Putin’s invasion. • Secured new trade agreements, opening up markets for British businesses. • Helped restore seriousness to government after years of scandal, chaos and decline. People do not have to like Starmer. They do not have to vote Labour. But pretending this is the record of the worst Prime Minister in British history is absurd.