When Keir Starmer swept into Downing Street in July 2024 with a massive parliamentary majority, the expectation was sky-high. Fourteen years of Conservative rule had ended, and the public wanted quick fixes to crumbling public services, stagnant wages, and a sluggish economy. Fast forward to 2026, and Starmer has exited office following a turbulent two years that culminated in local election losses and a leadership crisis.
So, what did Keir Starmer actually achieve?
If you ask his critics, they'll point to the immediate controversies: the early release of prisoners to handle overcrowding, the cut to winter fuel payments for pensioners, and the damaging "freebie" row over political donations that tarnished his brand of clean competence right out of the gate. But if you look at the actual statute books and policy changes, the reality is a lot more complex. He didn't build a flawless utopia, but he fundamentally rewired parts of the British state, from the energy sector to workers' rights.
Here is the objective, raw look at what the Starmer government actually did, what worked, and where it fell apart.
The Big Wins in Clean Energy and Public Ownership
If there's one area where the Starmer government actually moved fast and broke things, it was green energy and infrastructure.
For years, building anything in the UK was a bureaucratic nightmare. The Labour government changed that by instantly reforming the planning system and lifting the de facto ban on onshore wind. They launched Great British Energy, a state-owned clean energy company designed to co-invest in local power projects alongside the private sector.
By mid-2026, the numbers started to speak for themselves:
- Renewable energy sources accounted for more than half of the UK's electricity generation for the first time.
- The capacity of approved renewable energy projects tripled year-on-year compared to the previous administration.
- Under their landmark planning reforms, they made serious progress toward their ambitious housing targets, adding 300,000 new homes to the housing stock in their first 18 months.
They also didn't hesitate to pull the trigger on nationalization. By passing legislation to bring the UK’s failing railways back into public ownership as private contracts expired, Starmer's team fundamentally changed how British transport operates.
Rewriting the Rules for Workers and Renters
For ordinary people, Starmer's most lasting achievements are the ones that quietly altered daily life. They did this by using their massive legislative majority to push through major structural reforms in employment and housing.
The Employment Rights Act stood as the centerpiece of this agenda, representing the biggest expansion of worker protections in a generation. Labour banned exploitative zero-hour contracts, outlawed the practice of "fire and rehire," and made statutory sick pay a day-one right instead of making workers wait. They also hiked the national minimum wage to its highest level ever.
On the housing front, they finally did what previous governments had promised for years but never delivered: they passed the Renters' Rights Act. This law completely banned "no-fault" Section 21 evictions, outlawed arbitrary fixed-term tenancies, and made it illegal for landlords to discriminate against families, pet owners, or people on benefits.
These weren't just tweaks around the edges. They were deep, structural shifts in how the British economy treats renters and working-class people.
The Grim Reality of Crime, Courts, and Immigration
This is where the narrative gets incredibly messy. Starmer, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, was supposed to be the "law and order" prime minister. Yet, his record on the justice system is a lightning rod of controversy.
Inheriting a prison estate on the absolute brink of collapse, Starmer had to authorize an emergency early-release scheme in September 2024 that saw over 2,000 prisoners let out of jail early. This was followed by the highly controversial Sentencing Act 2026 to keep the prison population from exploding again. While these moves prevented physical riots inside overcrowding prisons, they were a political disaster. To make matters worse, the Crown Court backlog actually grew under his watch, leaving victims waiting years for justice.
Immigration was another massive battleground. Starmer scrapped the previous government's costly Rwanda deportation scheme on day one, calling it a gimmick, and replaced it with a new Border Security Command. He tightened visa rules, doubled the time required to qualify for permanent residency, and negotiated a "one in, one out" deal with France.
Did it work? Yes and no. Net migration did fall significantly, and small boat arrivals saw a notable decline. But the political cost was devastating, as the government found itself caught in a vice between a hostile right-wing opposition demanding even harsher measures and a left-wing base furious over the tightening of migration routes.
The Economic Trap That Undid His Premiership
Starmer’s primary mission was always economic growth. He believed that simply bringing stability and competence back to government would unlock massive private investment.
That theory ran into a brick wall of reality.
In October 2024, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered a budget that featured the largest tax hikes in three decades, designed to plug what Labour called a "black hole" in public finances. While a smoother second budget in autumn 2025 briefly boosted business investment and spurred a temporary growth spurt, the long-term economic picture remained stubborn.
The decision to increase employers' National Insurance contributions backfired by driving up inflation, with the Bank of England noting that businesses simply raised prices to cover the tax hike. Then came external shocks: US tariff announcements and the outbreak of the Iran war in early 2026, which sent global oil prices soaring and pushed inflation back up. Unemployment also ticked up as businesses pulled back on hiring due to rising employment costs.
Starmer tried to reform the state, but he couldn't outrun the global macroeconomic headwinds or the domestic anger over his fiscal choices—particularly the decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance for pensioners to save money.
What Keir Starmer Taught Us About Power
Ultimately, Keir Starmer's legacy is a masterclass in the difference between winning power and using it.
He was brilliant at taking over and reforming a broken political party, and he won an historic landslide. But once inside Downing Street, his government lacked a singular, driving narrative. They got caught in a trap of trying to fix long-term structural problems while getting battered by short-term political storms.
Yet, to say he achieved nothing is objectively false. If you are a renter who can no longer be evicted on a landlord's whim, a worker with immediate sick-pay rights, or an engineer working in Britain's booming offshore wind sector, Starmer’s brief, turbulent premiership changed your life. He leaves behind a Britain with stronger state intervention, a rebalanced power dynamic between employers and workers, and a green energy transition that is now running on autopilot. It wasn't the smooth, triumphant era of change he promised, but it was a consequential one.
To understand the sheer scale of the challenges Starmer faced from day one, watch this video detailing the state of the UK's public services which highlights the political and economic crises he inherited upon taking office.
