Verdict: Keir Starmer

Starmer’s two years are a masterclass in confusing spending with progress. He inherited a country desperate for growth and confidence, yet employers were hit with higher costs, unemployment rose, and more than one million young people ended up outside work, education or training. The answer cannot be to make employment more expensive while allowing welfare dependency to become normalised, then declare Britain better off. A safety net must protect people who genuinely need it, but government should make work pay, reward enterprise and demand responsibility. Starmer promised change; too often, he delivered a bigger bill, a weaker jobs market and lower confidence.

Starmer’s first two years have been a serious, steady reset after years of political noise. He has brought discipline back to government, treated the public finances with respect, and shown that calm competence still matters. Not every decision has been easy, but that is precisely the point: he has governed like someone more interested in fixing the roof than posing on the ladder. For businesses, markets and households, that return to stability is hugely valuable. Britain does not need endless fireworks from Downing Street; it needs grip, patience and a sense that grown-ups are back in the room. On that test, Starmer has done far better than his critics are willing to admit.

Disastrous and a huge lesson to others about reading the room and listening to the experts.