From the notoriously left-wing Financial Times: What has Labour actually achieved? Archive copy here: <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.is/20260427001658/www.ft.com/content/231c0637-3171-431e-8982-32e338622178#selection-2139.0-2155.252" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.is/20260427001658/www.ft.com/content/231c0637-3171-431e-8982-32e338622178#selection-2139.0-2155.252
The Employment Rights Act is controversial with business leaders, because it gives greater workplace rights to millions of people, strengthening sick pay, maternity and paternity leave and tackling zero-hours contracts, while also making it easier for unions to go on strike.
The Passenger Railway Services (public ownership) Act has begun the process of nationalising Britain’s railways, albeit only as existing contracts with private companies expire.
The Water (Special Measures) Act gives regulators powers to bring criminal charges against water industry executives for environmental damage, bans bonuses for polluting bosses, and mandates real-time monitoring of all sewage outlets. However, key tranches have yet to be brought into force, limiting regulators’ ability to crack down on bad actors.
A Great British Energy Act has set up a new quango in Aberdeen to invest in, develop and own renewable energy projects.
A Renters’ Rights Act has abolished “no-fault” section 21 evictions, eliminated fixed-term contracts in favour of rolling tenancies and capped rent increases to only once every year.
Two significant new laws were originally introduced by the last Tory government: a smoking law, which means someone born after 2008 can never legally buy cigarettes in the UK, and the football governance act, which established a new regulator for English football.
Labour has also removed the last 92 hereditary peers from the House of Lords. However, Starmer’s ambitions for a smaller, elected second chamber have fallen by the wayside: even some hereditaries may be allowed to stay as life peers.
Starmer’s government is far less popular than many of its flagship policies.
That is partly because the public know much more about the unpopular policies — such as higher taxes on farmers — than the popular ones, according to polling by Ipsos. The fragmented media environment makes it harder for government messaging to penetrate the public consciousness.
The government’s own communications strategy may also be to blame. By targeting largely older, working-class voters, it had been “pulling in an opposite direction” to the legislative agenda, said Saunders.
“The irony is that the government thinks it’s been quite busy but looks to the public like it’s inert and rudderless.”
The government’s first two years will also be remembered for two failed bills.
It was unable to push through reforms to disability benefits designed to save £5bn, after a revolt by Labour MPs. The emasculated final legislation could now even cost the Treasury more money overall.
An assisted dying bill proposed by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater — and backed by many ministers, including Starmer — ended up in the long grass.
It passed the Commons by 314 votes to 291, and enjoyed wide public support, but <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.is/o/Zt6B8/www.ft.com/content/d85d8344-9b39-4d2d-b57e-c8a662089e63" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">collapsed in the Lords, where Labour does not have a majority.
The government was also forced to drop cuts to pensioners’ winter fuel payments.
“For me, there are three things that didn’t happen which will define our time in government,” said one senior Labour figure. “The fact that we retreated from welfare reform and cutting the winter fuel allowance, and that assisted dying didn’t make it.”