In Islamic history, there are many works in a famous genre called "Mirrors for Princes" that teach and advise rulers on political matters. These emphasize qualities such as determination, consistency, distancing oneself from oppressors and keeping one's word.
For example, 11th-century Central Asian Turkic poet Yusuf Balasaguni wrote, “One should not call a human being who breaks his word a man,” and advises against placing hope in him. Eighth-century advisor to the Ummayad caliph, Abd al-Hamid al-Katib (d. 750), argued that, "The ruler's determination makes difficult tasks easy." Similarly, the great Sufi Najm al-Din Daye (d. 1256) stated that rulers must be truehearted, trustworthy and resolute; otherwise, they will ruin themselves.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, however, truly ruined himself with his failures in these points. His government, in fact, can be remembered for U-turns and broken promises.
One issue that drew significant criticism and dominated the headlines for a long time was the reduction in winter fuel payments for many pensioners. In September 2024, Labour insisted on pushing through this decision, depriving around 10 million pensioners of the payment. There was also opposition within the party: as many as 52 Labour lawmakers abstained from the vote, while others voted against the measure. Ultimately, in June 2025, the government reversed its decision.
On Page 10 of his 2024 manifesto, under the heading “Labour's First Steps for Change,” Starmer promised to keep both taxes and inflation as low as possible. Therefore, tax increases became one of the issues most frequently used against him by his critics.
In the very first budget, a tax increase of 40 billion pounds ($52.74 billion) was announced. This led to criticism from conservatives for breaking promises: “Labour had pledged not to raise taxes on working people, yet they’ve imposed a 25 billion pound tax hike by raising National Insurance, pushing the tax burden to an unprecedented level in the nation’s history ... Despite promising not to increase borrowing, Labour has raised borrowing by billions each year of this Parliament.”
On Page 21 of the manifesto, it is written that: “The Conservatives have raised the tax burden to a 70-year high. We will ensure taxes on working people are kept as low as possible." Just one year later, Starmer caused headlines such as “Highest tax burden in history.”
Moreover, it is believed that the public was misled to justify the taxes imposed on workers.
The event that dominated the country's political agenda in November 2025 was Chancellor Rachel Reeves' claim that there was a "black hole" in the public finances that needed to be filled through tax rises. However, the Office for Budget Responsibility reported that the public finances showed a surplus of 4.2 billion pounds rather than a deficit. The government failed to convince the public that it had not been deceptive in this matter. In fact, during this period, internal opposition within the Labour Party intensified, and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham began to emerge as a potential rival to Starmer.
The national debt-to-GDP ratio was 94.2% when Starmer arrived in July 2024. In his first year, as the opposition had feared, this ratio rose to 95.3%. However, he managed to reduce it to 93.8% in the March 2026 data. In fact, Starmer achieved better growth figures than the previous administration. However, the initial failure to meet promises and the small percentage of positive results did not have a significant positive impact on public opinion.
Inflation stood at 2.2% when Starmer took office. By the end of his first year, it had risen to 3.8%, while the latest figure is 2.8%. Starmer also inherited an unemployment rate of 4.3% and is leaving office with a rate of 4.9%, according to data from March 2026. The figures released in January 2026 laid the groundwork for The Independent's assessment that “the poorest have become poorer under Labour, while the richest are better off.”
It is also true that U.S. President Donald Trump contributed to Starmer's downfall. Even before Trump was elected, Starmer had been advised against completing all aspects of the Chagos Islands sovereignty treaty, as a potential Trump victory could have damaged the United Kingdom's vital relationship with the United States. Consequently, Starmer chose to wait for Trump's return to office before proceeding.
Initially, Trump didn't seem opposed to the agreement. In fact, he indicated his inclination to approve it during Starmer's visit to the U.S. in February 2025. However, by 2026, perhaps influenced by not getting Starmer's support on certain issues, such as Greenland, he called the Chagos treaty "an act of great stupidity."
This was a major insult to the Starmer government and, indeed, to the British Foreign Office in general. But Starmer could not respond, and after this insult from Trump, he did not implement the agreement, leaving the matter unresolved for the time being. Starmer's meetings with Trump – apart from a few minor positive developments – almost always resulted in humiliation, ridicule, and the reinforcement of the perception that he is a "weak" leader, as in this example.
As soon as the Trump administration came into power, Starmer found himself under intense scrutiny, particularly from businessperson Elon Musk. The issue, whose repercussions extended from January 2025 to the present, was the “grooming gangs” affair. According to this, gang-related cases of pedophilia had occurred in various U.K. cities for decades, with police and local authorities ignoring complaints, thus allowing the problem to persist for so long.
Starmer was heavily criticized both for his negligence on this issue during his time as director of public prosecutions (2008-2013) and, more importantly, for his government's failure to launch a national inquiry. The prime minister, who had long advocated for investigations solely by local councils, eventually succumbed to pressure and added another U-turn to his list, ordering a comprehensive statutory national inquiry. However, this inquiry also faced much criticism regarding its quality and adequacy. In short, this issue wore Starmer down through attacks from both within and outside the country.
Another issue in which the U.S. directly interfered in British internal affairs, forced a policy on Starmer, and found significant support within the country was, of course, immigration. The problem of increasing numbers of illegal immigrants arriving in small boats, on which Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage based his entire political strategy, forced Starmer to take a range of measures, from striking a deal with France to replacing his home secretary.
Ultimately, he failed to stop the boats and could not achieve any progress to satisfy those who were concerned. Moreover, while trying to appease dissenters, he also alienated those close to him. His speech, in which he said that, if strict measures were not taken, the U.K. would become an “island of strangers,” is an example of this. This speech, reminiscent of the racist Enoch Powell’s 1968 remarks, drew criticism within his party, prompting him to make another U-turn and apologise.
Indeed, when Trump announced Starmer’s resignation to the public, he wrote that Starmer had failed on the immigration issue. This announcement, made on Truth Social on June 21, just one day before Starmer’s resignation, itself constituted interference in British internal affairs and, delivered as if referring to an official under his command, was certainly humiliating for both Starmer and the British state.
On the issues of Iran and Israel, Starmer failed to take a firm stance, angering both anti-Zionists and Zionists. Firstly, in October 2024, the BBC reported that British jets flew to intercept Iranian missile attacks on Israel. He clearly sided with Israel in the Iran-Israel war in June 2025, too.
It was later revealed that a secret military agreement called Project Hezuk had been made with Israel during former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's administration. When the Starmer government was asked whether the project was still ongoing, the Ministry of Defense refused to answer, raising suspicions.
Israeli state broadcaster KAN announced that Britain has assisted Israel in intercepting Iranian drones and ballistic missiles, following Israel's call for such intervention. However, his failure to give Trump the support he wanted in the last war, as well as his steps such as recognizing Palestine, angered the Zionists. There are many more examples in which he has displeased both sides.
Another major problem for Starmer related to the U.S. arose from his appointment of Peter Mandelson, who was linked to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as ambassador to Washington. When details about the close relationship between Mandelson and Epstein were uncovered by the U.S. Department of Justice, and a huge backlash ensued, the pressure could not be withstood, and the ambassador was dismissed.
But the matter didn't end there. Another scandal erupted, revealing that Mandelson had been appointed after failing security vetting. Starmer claimed he was unaware of this and maintained that the Foreign Office had deliberately withheld the failure from him. Ultimately, this led to the sacking of the top civil servant at the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins. But the damage has been done, and Starmer couldn't come up clean.
The local elections in May 2026 sealed Starmer's fate. Labour suffered a historic defeat, losing control of around 1,500 councillors and nearly 40 municipalities. Their main rival, Reform, was the clear winner. This outcome brought to a head the growing demand for a "new leader" within the party, which had been building since late 2025.
Due to various scandals or intense public backlash, several high-ranking officials, including Chief of Staff Sue Gray, “number two” Angela Rayner, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh – who now appears to be Burnham's right-hand woman – Homelessness Minister Rushanara Ali, and Public Health Minister Andrew Gwynne, were forced to resign in 2024 and 2025. Following the local election defeat, ministers Jess Philips, Zubir Ahmed, Alex Davies-Jones, Miatta Fahnbulleh, and Wes Streeting resigned one after another. It was also announced that around 90 Labour lawmakers demanded Starmer's resignation.
In recent months, it had become widely expected that Starmer would be forced to resign. The events of May confirmed this. In short, the process was almost identical to the resignation processes of previous Tory prime ministers, with failures, broken promises, scandals, resignations and the fall.
Burnham, who had challenged Starmer for months, consolidated his support after winning the final by-election that would have secured his seat in Parliament. With no one else as influential as him emerging, he now looks set to become the new prime minister.
One of the biggest scandals in the National Health Service (NHS) history is remembered for the deaths of hundreds of patients due to poor care at Mid Stafford Hospital between 2005 and 2009. Andy Burnham was the health minister at the time. He was so indifferent to the incident that he even refused to meet with the relatives of those who died.
The scandal involving Greater Manchester police stripping women naked for searches is also noteworthy. One woman, who claims to have been sexually assaulted, alleges that Burnham didn't deliver any of his promises to her. The fact that none of the police officers involved have been fired or held accountable is a complete disgrace.
Burnham is also someone who tries not to disturb Zionists, is said to have strong relations with Jewish leaders, and has never accused Israel of genocide. In 2015, he ran against Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership and lost. A video of him saying that if he became leader, the first country he would visit would be Israel has recently resurfaced. Recently, the Jewish chair of the Beaverbrooks Group, Mark Adlestone, also wrote an article praising Burnham.
Burnham also has his U-turns. It's reported that his reversal on the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone issue cost 100 million pounds.
Consequently, Burnham is someone who resembles Starmer and previous Tory prime ministers in many ways and offers no significant upsides. Given that Britain is sliding into one of the world's most unstable and grotesque political landscapes with such figures, it would be best for the British public to turn their backs on those who glorify Israel and instead embrace those who oppose genocidal scumbags. Otherwise, the story will undoubtedly repeat itself.
