Since his appointment to 10 Downing Street on July 5, Keir Starmer has repeated it like a mantra: “We’re off to a flying start” (“hit the ground running”). Less than two weeks after his election victory, ending fourteen years of Conservative government, the new British Prime Minister is doing everything to impose his brand quickly and give the impression of an executive ready to reform. “There is no time to lose, the work of change begins now”he says.
On Wednesday 17 July, the formal opening of Parliament allowed him to present a thick programme, containing 40 bills for the coming year, almost twice as many as the last programme of the previous head of government, Rishi Sunak, in autumn 2023. As is tradition, King Charles III went to the House of Lords, wearing an ermine cape and the Imperial Crown on his head, with its 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires and 5 rubies. In a formal tone, he read out the programme of ” her “ government. A sentence from the “king’s speech” summarises Mr Starmer’s plan: “Ensuring economic growth will be fundamental.”
If other major reforms are announced – the abolition of hereditary peers in the House of Lords, the renationalisation of trains, the “renewal” relations with the European Union – Mr Starmer’s main goal is to get the economy back on track. During the election campaign, he promised to be on the side of “wealth creators”even if it means annoying the left wing of his party.
The UK has been in near-stagnation for the past 15 years, with wages (adjusted for inflation) rising by just 6% over the entire period, and the recent inflation shock has put purchasing power at the heart of Britons’ concerns. In 2023, growth was just 0.1%, and GDP per capita fell by 0.7%. The economic rebound at the start of this year is far from erasing this mediocre record.
Limited room for maneuver
To try to halt this slow decline, Mr Starmer is banking on a priority reform: liberalising planning permissions, whether for real estate or major infrastructure projects. The UK is currently plagued by an inability to get major projects off the ground, with laws making it relatively easy for local owners to oppose projects close to home. The fiasco of a high-speed train line between London and the north of England is the best illustration of this: the project was revised downwards twice, with the link to Leeds and then to Manchester cancelled, due to cost escalation and repeated delays. The train will finally stop in Birmingham.
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