POLL OF THE DAY: As Starmer marks 100 days in power - is he a good PM? VOTE NOW
POLL OF THE DAY: As Starmer marks 100 days in power - is he a good PM? VOTE NOW
PA
Sir Keir Starmer has today celebrated his 100th day in power after his landslide victory in the 2024 General Election.
However, his short time in office so far has been marred by controversy with critics taking aim at his policies and questionable choices.
The Prime Minister came under fire for his choice to axe the Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners, accept freebies worth more than £100,000 and faces further criticism over public spending ahead of Rachel Reeves's Autumn Budget.
In addition, Starmer received a fresh blow amid a row with his former Chief of Staff Sue Gray.
Speaking in the Commons earlier this week, Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch jibed over Gray’s quitting.
Addressing Angela Rayner over renters rights reforms, Badenoch joked: “As the Rt. Hon Lady says, it’s the week in which Labour reaches 100 days in office. And they are to be congratulated.”
“Not everybody gets to 100 days - Sue Gray didn’t.”
One Tory MP was heard heckling: “It seems longer!”
Badenoch went on to accuse Labour of “noisy infighting and chaos resulting in the hurried reset we saw [last] weekend.”
Sue Gray and Kier StarmerPAAlso speaking on Starmer’s first 100 days in office, actor and comedian Stephen Fry said the PM’s Government has so far been “a mess”.
He told LBC that Labour's current plight seemed “extraordinary... because you think you're in opposition, you've got a bit of time to get things together.
“You're not sure when an election would be called. It was slightly earlier than anybody imagined, as we know, the famous rain-swept scenes in Downing Street. But the one thing you do is you say, ‘Look at what happened.
“Look at what happened with Boris [Johnson] and everyone else, the Spads, the Special Advisors, the Civil Service, Dominic Cummings, all these people.
“Look at the infighting. Look at even with the previous Labour Governments. Look at the bad blood between [Tony] Blair and [Gordon] Brown towards the end and so on. Let's make sure the first thing we do, even before policy is process.
“That's what Blair always used to say. And so, let's make the process clear and transparent and honest and friendly and efficient.’ And instead, they do the opposite. I mean, what is it? Is it just plain human susceptibility to whatever it is that power does to people?”
As Starmer marks 100 days in power - is he a good PM? Vote now in the poll above and have your say in the comments section below.