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Sir Keir Starmer used his first New Year’s message as UK prime minister to promise a “year of rebuilding” for Britain in 2025, admitting: “There is still a lot to do.”
In the first such message from a Labor prime minister in 15 years, Starmer hinted at the challenges ahead, saying his administration had begun “the work of change”.
Despite his government’s rocky start, the Prime Minister highlighted early achievements, including a record increase in the minimum wage, more returns of foreign criminals, major investment in clean energy projects and more than £25 billion for the National Health Service.
The first months of Starmer’s premiership were overshadowed by a row over freebies, a summer of race riots and an autumn budget that increased taxes by £40 billion a year.
WorkA landslide victory in July’s election gave her 411 seats and almost total control of the House of Commons while reducing the Conservative Party to just 119 MPs after 14 years in power.
The latest though aggregate of public opinion polls it showed Labor slipping to just 27 per cent, with the Tories not far behind on 25 per cent and the right-wing Reform UK closing the gap to 22 per cent.
Now Downing Street hopes it can win over a skeptical public by tackling concrete issues such as reducing NHS waiting lists, building more homes and delivering more green energy schemes.
“It’s hard for a lot of people to think about the future when you spend all your time struggling to get through the week,” Starmer said.
“So I want to be clear. Until you can look forward and believe again in the promise and prosperity of Britain, this government will fight for you. . . every waking hour.”
The Prime Minister is on his first holiday since the general election, having postponed his short break following the death of his brother Nick on Boxing Day.
Starmer reiterated his central targets of 1.5 million new homes, creating a more secure energy system, improving pre-school support, reducing healthcare waiting lists, reducing immigration and tackling anti-social behavior in communities.
“That’s what we’re going to focus on. The year of renewal. . . a nation that gets things done. No matter how difficult or dire the circumstances,” he said.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK – who won just five seats in July’s election but has since surged in the polls – used his New Year message to embrace his values of “family, community and country”, promising to make Britain “a better place”.
Farage said he started 2024 in “semi-retirement” with two grandchildren on the way.
But he was inspired to return to the front line of politics by his desire for “proper border control”, solving the cost of living crisis and reducing net zero climate initiatives.
“Everyone recognizes that we’ve made a real impact over these last six months,” he said. “We believe we can turn this country around and make Britain a much better place.”
