Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pursuing a deliberate strategy of shedding unpopular policies, dubbed 'scraping the barnacles off the boat', as he seeks to steady Labour's course and refocus public attention on the cost of living crisis.
A Strategy Borrowed from Tory Playbook
The approach mirrors the tactic used by Lynton Crosby for the Conservatives before the 2015 election, where peripheral or damaging policies were jettisoned to sharpen the core message. Starmer has instructed his cabinet to relentlessly concentrate on economic pressures facing households, declaring that "every minute that we're not talking about the cost of living is a wasted minute". This directive comes despite the constant pull of international events from Venezuela to Iran.
The most recent and prominent reversal has been on mandatory digital ID cards. The policy faced a fierce social media backlash, polled disastrously, and raised internal government concerns over cost and complexity. Ministers have now abandoned the mandatory element, leaving open the option for people to use other documents to prove their right to work.
Mounting Reversals and Internal Frustration
This is not an isolated shift. The digital ID U-turn follows the reversal on farmers' inheritance tax and an expected change on business rates for pubs. The plan to limit jury trials may be next in line for dilution after significant criticism from MPs, peers, and legal professionals.
While some ministers defend the moves as necessary to ditch "high salience and low approval" policies, others within government express deep frustration. One cabinet minister lamented "unforced errors" and policies, like the ID cards, that were "rushed out and ended badly", forcing a "big clear-up operation". A Labour source warned that constant U-turns are eroding loyalty on the backbenches, whittling down the number of MPs willing to publicly defend the government.
Competence Under Scrutiny
The flurry of reversals has handed political ammunition to the opposition. At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Starmer of performing weekly U-turns, saying she felt "like I say that every week". She also questioned whether the PM agreed with Health Secretary Wes Streeting's call for the government's new year resolution to be "to get it right first time".
Criticism is also coming from within. One cabinet minister admitted the reversals raise "questions about judgment", pushing the government into a dangerous position where the public questions not just its values but its core selling point: competence. Another source was blunter, stating the problem was often "the decision taken in the first place".
Downing Street insiders defend the Prime Minister's approach, insisting he is focused on ensuring policies are effective. However, they acknowledge the political difficulty, with one admitting some U-turns stem from "absolute chaos and madness every day" during the policy formation process.
With crucial local elections in May, Starmer's team is acutely aware of Crosby's other maxim: 'you can't fatten a pig on market day'. The race is on to clear the decks, refocus on the economy, and convince voters of Labour's steadiness before polling day.
