A major report from the influential Institute for Government (IfG) has delivered a stark assessment of the Labour government's first year, concluding that a lack of strategic planning in opposition is hampering efforts to reform vital public services.
Chaotic Start for Starmer's Government
The annual review presents a damaging picture of an occasionally chaotic initial period in power for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, which has coincided with a significant slump in their poll ratings. According to the thinktank, the Prime Minister entered Downing Street with ambitious targets but without a clear roadmap for how to achieve them.
This has resulted in what the report describes as haphazard and uncoordinated attempts to overhaul sectors ranging from the National Health Service to the courts system. Nick Davies, a programme director at the IfG and one of the report's authors, was blunt in his criticism.
"Starmer went into government with a set of missions, but no clear idea about how to achieve them or how those targets fit together in any meaningful way," Davies stated. He emphasised that there has been a "void at the heart of government" when it comes to a coherent vision for public service reform.
Mixed Progress and Contradictory Policies
The institute's analysis across a range of services found that tangible progress has been limited. Labour was judged to have made good headway in only one area: improving children's social services, where a focus on early intervention has shown positive results.
In other critical areas, the findings were far less encouraging:
- Prisons: Some progress, but deemed insufficient.
- GPs and Hospitals: Little or no progress made.
- Adult Social Care: Government actions have actually made the situation worse over the past year.
The report highlights specific policy contradictions. For instance, while Health Secretary Wes Streeting aims to move more patients from hospitals into community care, the government has disproportionately increased funding for the NHS compared to local authorities, which are responsible for funding adult social care.
Furthermore, ministers have ended health and social care visas that allowed foreign workers to ease post-pandemic staffing shortages, while simultaneously commissioning a review into social care funding led by Louise Casey.
A Call for Urgent Action
A core problem identified is the government's failure to orchestrate cross-departmental cooperation. Davies pointed to the simultaneous reorganisation of multiple anchor institutions as a significant hurdle.
"NHS England is being scrapped, integrated care boards are being reorganised and we are undertaking a huge round of local government reorganisation," he said. "All of the anchor organisations which are going to deliver the government's reforms are going through huge change all at the same time."
The report concludes with a direct warning to the Prime Minister. Davies added: "Starmer must urgently get a grip if Labour is to enter the next election having delivered tangible improvements to the services upon which the public depends."
In response, a government spokesperson defended their record, stating: "We are already delivering real change for people across the UK, including cutting NHS waiting lists, launching free breakfast clubs for schoolchildren and starting a £5bn Pride in Place fund." They also highlighted that day-to-day public service spending is set to be over £50bn higher annually by 2028-29.
