Starmer acknowledges frustration with Labour as polls point to Farage win

Sir Keir Starmer said it would take time to clear up the mess inherited when Labour took office.

By contributor David Hughes, Rhiannon James and Will Durrant, PA
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Supporting image for story: Starmer acknowledges frustration with Labour as polls point to Farage win
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer, arriving ahead of the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged the public’s frustration with his government as polls suggested Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could secure an outright win at the next election.

The Prime Minister said there was “a lot of hard work to do” for his administration to deliver the change promised by Labour’s landslide win last year.

The scale of the challenge facing Sir Keir was underlined by a poll indicating Mr Farage could be on course for Downing Street with Labour reduced to just 90 seats.

Labour Party conference 2025
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged there was work to do to deliver the change promised by Labour (Jack Hill/The Times/PA)

Asked how much trouble he was in, Sir Keir told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “We’ve got a lot of hard work to do.”

He highlighted achievements including increasing NHS appointments and rolling out an expansion of childcare.

“There’s a lot we have achieved but we’ve got to do more,” he said.

“We inherited a complete mess, a broken economy, a broken public services.

“We said we would change that, and I always said that would take time. But I do understand people are frustrated.”