Sir Keir Starmer has labelled Reform UK’s policies as “racist and immoral”. He has accused Farage of feeding on “grievance, decline and division”. He has declared that the Tories won’t be trusted with the economy for generations.

Our prime minister is a hypocrite.

Starmer has tried with all his lacklustre might to position his Labour Party as “morally superior”, as he attempts to mask the dire shortcomings of his once-promising government. The party have attempted to be a breath of fresh air, absent of the deceit that riddled fourteen years of woeful Tory power. Yet they have served more of the same. This government has not only deserted its targets- they have embroiled themselves in scandal.

Labour have appealed for one slimmer of success by trying to be a trustworthy, stable and righteous body in a volatile political climate, yet their tenure has fallen apart to become quite the opposite. It was brutally plain to see that the public’s faith in the Conservatives had been shattered following Brexit, Covid-19 and the “mini-budget”, and perhaps Starmer’s 2024 landslide was more of a Tory loss than his victory.

It did however give the new government a golden opportunity- success could now be measured not by how many trees they pull up, but how many scandals they avoid. This quest for a steady five years was threatened by the rapid rise of Reform, but it also presented another angle- Farage’s policies may be seen as being on the edge of immoral by much of the population, so why not push them over the brink?

Throughout the first 18 months of his premiership, the prime minister has indeed attempted to seize that opportunity. He has failed to grasp it. Whilst it quickly became obvious that Labour may stumble at the same hurdles as their predecessors, it was a little more unprecedented that they would see quite so much scandal.

Starmer has shown himself to be an invertebrate. A plaguing lack of backbone has led to countless U-turns on issues such as Winter fuel payments, welfare cuts and digital ID cards. He has consistently placed the opinions of his own backbenchers over the UK public, rather unhelpfully giving them false indications at nearly every opportunity.

Labour have also abandoned many of the policies in their “Change” manifesto- despite Miliband’s best efforts, they have scaled back their green plan, whilst foreign aid has been cut rather than increased. Immigration promises are yet to bear fruit, and they even abandoned their 2017 and 2019 pledge to abolish tuition fees prior to the latest election. The government are failing to give the population what they voted for.

Whilst this may sound poor, the erosion of trust in Starmer’s party goes deeper than false assurances- it extends to scandal. The then deputy prime minister Angela Rayner resigned in September 2025 after it emerged that she had failed to pay roughly £40,000 of stamp duty on her £800,000 Brighton and Hove flat. She may have acted with integrity, however her position as housing secretary made the mistake inexcusable. The most prominent figure of the Labour government’s hard-left had made an error where she should have been guiding the nation.

Reeves’ dismal budget that cemented Labour’s new-found position as the party of the “non-working” class not only displayed economic incompetence, but also unacceptable lack of integrity. The damaging leaks created speculation, heightening critique of the budget before it was even released. It opened up the perfect opportunity for Badenoch’s ruthless attack on the chancellor, which then acted as a springboard for the leader of the opposition’s good public form over the following months. The government certainly didn’t help itself.

Despite Starmer remaining in situ for the time being, the race to become his successor is rapidly heating up. Notwithstanding her shameful tax affairs, Rayner appears to be the candidate of the radical left, whilst Streeting will most likely lead the moderates, creating yet another battle not just for Labour leadership, but for the ideological soul of the party. There is however, a notable name missing from the mix- Andy Burnham.

Providing he found himself a seat, the so-called “king of the North” seemed like the inevitable heir to No. 10’s keys just a month ago, but the Manchester mayor has failed to tackle his major obstacle. It is not the fault of Burnham that he cannot stand for Gorton and Denton MP though. Of course, the NEC’s decision is no doubt the most legitimate decision in this article, however there’s no denying what it could look like.

I am not disputing that the blockage was due to his stellar tenure as mayor- it is completely understandable. Why would the Labour Party call a Manchester mayoral election where Reform would be plausible victors? Why cause more disruption, use more people, and spend more money ahead of the hugely significant 7^th of May local elections, just to send Burnham into parliament? There is undeniable logic to the decision, but the problem lies with what it could look like. Here’s another angle- the inner circle of Keir Starmer ruthlessly barred his biggest challenger from a golden place in the Commons. That’s what it could look like.

Events regarding Gorton and Denton added to yet another controversial set of actions from the ruling party. Local Government Secretary Steve Reed has announced that of the 136 English councils that will be holding Spring elections, 29 will now see them postponed. He has justified this by pointing towards Labour’s huge programme of council mergers and reorganisation across the country, but whatever the reasoning is, this is worrying, and frankly, undemocratic.

Five were meant to go to the polls last year, meaning councillors will now serve terms of nearly seven years. Reform have led the charge against the postponements, mounting a legal challenge that will be heard this month. This is dangerous territory for the government- calling off elections that you think you’ll lose isn’t a signal of a liberal democratic, Western state, it is the sign of a dictatorship. Obviously, the United Kingdom is not that, and this government is not corrupt, but flirtations with authoritarianism should not be tolerated.

Relationships with disgraced paedophile financiers shouldn’t be either, however when Peter Mandelson was appointed ambassador to the United States in December 2024, they were. This is a subject that has grabbed headlines with ease and motivated this piece- it is also an issue that could finally sink Keir Starmer. The prime minister repeatedly stressed in the PMQs that he felt “betrayed” by the lord, but after Badenoch’s pressing, gave a clear admission that he knew Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein had continued to at least some extend after his conviction.

Perhaps it is a miracle that such a slippery character managed to reappear on so many occasions. He was a crucial cog in the New Labour revolution, but resigned as trade secretary in 1998 after it was found that he received a £373,000 secret loan from a ministerial colleague. Less than a year later, he was back as Northern Ireland secretary, before only lasting until 2001, when he quit over allegations of misconduct over a passport application- he was later cleared of wrongdoing. Mandelson claimed he was “a fighter and not a quitter” in an emotional victory speech following the against-the-odds retention of his seat in 2005, yet departed two years later to become the EU’s trade commissioner.

In his ultimately ill-fated premiership, Brown appointed him as a business secretary, granting him peerage at the same time. Then came Starmer’s involvement. Our prime minister is a decent man- he would never involve himself in the affairs of mad financiers, and certainly would not build up evident good friendships with them. Yet it was to some degree in his knowledge that Mandelson was the kind of man who would do those things when he appointed him, and this scandal could be Labour’s last with Starmer at the wheel.

The resignation of the PM’s right-hand man, Morgan McSweeney, carries a sense of sour, foreboding apprehension. This Labour government has continuously attempted to model itself as the “morally righteous” party with stringent intent. Fourteen years of turbulent Tory power gave them a field day, and they quickly realised that the best method of knocking Reform may be to create guilt within their voters-to-be. When they began this fresh era in the Summer of 2024, these were respectable tactics. Now, Starmer cannot make such remarks without an overwhelming sense of hypo-criticism.

Whether it is dubious tax affairs, undemocratic election postponements, or disgraceful appointments, this government is far from clean- it is incredibly dirty. These murky waters certainly aren’t what a tenure marred by incompetence needs. The biggest scandal of them all could force Keir Starmer out of office, but the favourite to replace him is someone who resigned in the face of wrongdoing. The irony is laughable.

Thanks for reading my latest blog post on Your World Explored by me, Lewis Defraine. Feel free to offer your support, or even constructive criticism in the comments section below. A like would be greatly appreciated, and if you’d like to receive more articles from Your World Explored, you can also subscribe. Also, you can take part in the poll down below.