2026 is going to be bumpy politically – especially for the PM | Politics | News

Keir Starmer’s aides insist 2026 is the year his fortunes will turn around – but his fate is no longer in his own hands. The Prime Minister’s reputation has now diminished so much that crowds show their anger even at public events where he does not attend. At the Royal Variety Performance, a comedian attempted to imitate the Prime Minister while the audience booed at the mere mention of his name. Fans chanted “Keir Starmer’s aw****” during the World Darts Championship, something football fans started earlier this year.

The Prime Minister’s Cabinet is in open rebellion, and those who want to replace it are circling around, waiting for their moment. For much of the country (a staggering 72% of voters view him unfavorably) Starmer’s political demise this year will be the fresh start the country needs. But the candidates who would replace him do little to instill a sense of hope and optimism in the new year. Wes Streeting has shown how little authority his boss now has in an interview that could be interpreted as his second move to a top job in a month. The Health Secretary does not shy away from calling for the UK to rejoin the EU’s customs union; This is something Starmer has denied twice in the last month.

Way off the pace, Streeting showed his ankle to Labor members who desperately wanted to take Britain back to Brussels. Pictured happily gazing into the middle distance while walking through Hainault Forest, he sheepishly claimed: “I diplomatically dodge the question. This is not a sales pitch or a job application.”

Just a few weeks ago he told the New Statesman that he was disappointed with the way Starmer was presenting his administration as “the country’s maintenance department”. But should the man who tells us about the winter flu crisis surely so bad it will be “probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid” focus on that rather than casual interviews describing his own stand? Let’s not forget that we are facing the 14th strike of junior doctors and many more are threatened.

Streeting quickly reached an agreement with the BMA after the general election and in return received a 29% pay rise without any changes to working practices. Unsurprisingly, the radical union spotted a gullible negotiator and is now back for another 26%.

Meanwhile, in Manchester, Andy Burnham is trying to find a safe Labor seat so he can parachute into Parliament to save the day (good luck with that seat). The city’s mayor has twice represented the Labor leadership but believes it’s third time lucky. If you’re tired of Starmer flip-flopping, get ready for Burnham to win.

The former health secretary is a breeze, one minute a Blairite, the next a Left hero. He started working as a parliamentary investigator at 24, became an MP, reached the Cabinet and resigned in 2017, insisting he had hated Westminster for almost a quarter of a century.

His love of Armani suits, which he bought twice a year, was quietly forgotten after a makeover; which means he apparently only wears a jacket in his role as “King in the North”. As an MP, Burnham faced ridicule when she said Labor “absolutely cannot abstain” against the Tory government’s welfare reforms – just minutes after abstaining from a vote on the same measures.

He also criticized those who called for a second Brexit referendum, then backed down after unions got involved. Earlier this year a Labor source said: “He agrees with so many different views that he has forgotten his own.”

In the background is Angela Rayner, who is writing a memoir that her publisher says will allow “her originality to shine and an empowering vision for a fairer, kinder society that will enable everyone to thrive.” Rayner has more time on his hands than before after returning to the backbenches following an accidental redistribution of wealth for failing to hand over enough money to the taxman.

Unfortunately, it is too late to stop the damage wrought by radical labor rights reforms that will cripple small businesses. Red Ed Miliband insists he doesn’t want another crack at being Labor leader, but his “friends” have made it known he wants to be the country’s next Chancellor. As if the country hasn’t suffered enough! Whatever the new year brings politically, hold on tight because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.