Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) has acknowledged public frustration with his government as polling suggests Nigel Farage's Reform UK could secure an outright victory at the next election. The Prime Minister admitted there was "a lot of hard work to do" for his administration to deliver the change promised by Labour's landslide win last year.
The scale of the challenge facing Starmer was underlined by polling indicating Farage could be on course for Downing Street with Labour reduced to just 90 seats. When asked how much trouble he was in, the Prime Minister told BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: "We've got a lot of hard work to do."
Government achievements highlighted
Starmer defended his record by pointing to specific accomplishments including increasing NHS appointments and rolling out an expansion of childcare. "There's a lot we have achieved but we've got to do more," he said.
Inherited challenges acknowledged
The Prime Minister sought to frame current challenges within the context of inherited problems. "We inherited a complete mess, a broken economy, a broken public services," Starmer said.
He emphasised that transformation would require patience while acknowledging public sentiment. "We said we would change that, and I always said that would take time. But I do understand people are frustrated."
Sources used: "BBC" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
