It’s fair to say that Keir Starmer is heading into the Labour Party Conference under a cloud.
He’s been forced into a cabinet reshuffle after his deputy leader Angela Rayner resigned over a stamp duty scandal, he sacked his US ambassador Lord Mandelson over links to Jeffrey Epstein and his popularity in the polls has taken a beating.
We headed to Plymouth to see what people on the street made of his performance as prime minister.
Rich: There’s a lot of division that’s happened in the country. Whether that’s directly to do with Keir Starmer or whether it’s just the sort of global politics that’s happening at the moment. Extremism is a thing that’s starting to come through a little bit more.
Jack: I thought, at the very least from the previous government, it would just be, like, pretty neutral times. I didn’t think there’d be anything too bad, but actually it’s been the same. And worse. I’m really shocked by the way he’s gone, the direction he’s gone, considering his past, his cabinet. Pretty much going all the way back to making cuts, which we saw the Conservative government do. It failed miserably. And we’re doing the same unbacked thing all over again.
Lou: I’m disappointed in what he’s done with the country so far. He’s not leading us. He doesn’t seem to be representing the country or the people that are in it as a whole at all. It just seems to be thinking for himself. Compared to other politicians that are somewhat controversial, but they still have their country at their heart.
