Nightmare for Starmer as activists refuse to mention his name when asking people for votes

The Prime Minister has been enjoying some rare respite over the last few days from the calamity of his first 14 months in office - and goodness knows he needed it. Pictures of him with US President Donald Trump on an unprecedented second state visit may make him feel like he is a world player, yet away from the global stage, he is a busted flush in his own country.

It is staggering that a government that entered Parliament last year with a stonking majority has unravelled so quickly. Labour activists that are loyal to the party and who still spend their weekends campaigning tell me that they dare not mention his name on the doorstep which is remarkable.

The public know a dead duck when they see one and their views are echoed by polling that shows that Sir Keir Starmer's approval ratings are on life support. Labour's general election victory was mostly fuelled by the fact that they were not the Conservatives, but now reality is biting.

Whilst in opposition, Starmer and Co spent a great deal of time calling out the Tories for their behaviour and suggesting that if they were in government, things would be different. It quickly became clear that hypocrisy ranked highly with the new administration as we discovered that the Prime Minister, his wife and other ministers had gifts lavished on them from Lord Alli, a prominent Labour donor.

For a party that made a virtue to criticise the Conservatives for any kind of similar behaviour, it was not a grubby look. And the electorate was rightly angry, asking why a Prime Minister who is earning over £170,000 a year needs another man to buy his suits and glasses for him, let alone outfits for his wife.

Labour entered government unprepared and soon unveiled a Budget that left British businesses reeling. It is well-documented how damaging this Budget was to all kinds of businesses, especially with the introduction of the increased rate in employer's National Insurance and an uplift in the minimum wage.

According to the UK Hospitality trade body, these decisions have caused the closure, downsizing or reduced the hiring levels by pubs, cafes, B&Bs, hotels and other hospitality businesses across the UK - with a loss of an estimated 84,000 job losses over the last 12 months and an average of two site closures per day in the first half of 2025.

This government is killing off our much-loved hospitality sector.

Our economy has become stagnant on Labour's watch as a direct result of their decision making. They have been in power for over a year now and can no longer blame the last Conservative government.

Away from this economic disaster, the Prime Minister apparently has zero control over his own party. He cowered in the faces of his own backbenchers over the much-needed attempt to control welfare spending despite having a decent majority that should absorb any backbench rebellion.

He has made recent powerful enemies of former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Lord Peter Mandelson following their sackings with questions being asked about his lack of judgement over appointing the latter UK Ambassador to the US in the first place following his links to the late sex abuser and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Aside from his party's internal splits, he is also facing significant external political opposition from a revived Green Party with firebrand new leader Zack Polanski and the threat of more lost votes to Jeremy Corbyn's new political party when they eventually decide on a name for themselves.

On top of this, he has failed to get a grip on stopping migrant boats crossing the Channel and has been unable to effectively deport any significant numbers of those migrants that his Home Office say should not be here - despite this being the number one issue of greatest concern to the British public.

His next crisis is already on the horizon with a new Budget being revealed on November 26.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already failed to control government spending and will be coming back for more from taxpayers by any means possible to repair the damage caused by this Government's economic illiteracy. That means that those of us who have worked hard, saved and invested, or dared to accumulate assets, will have our pockets well and truly picked.

Add to this a possible rejig of how council tax is calculated resulting in increased bills and hardworking Brits will be bled dry. Whilst Sir Keir Starmer bathes in the glory of cosy pictures with the US President, the clock on his Premiership is ticking.

He will not last as Prime Minister until 2029 - both he and the British public know it.