Shaky start: Britain's new government

动荡开局:英国新政府

Editor's Picks from The Economist

新闻

2024-10-01

7 分钟
PDF

单集简介 ...

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Amidst falling approval ratings, we consider Labour's unsteady start and what it must do to succeed. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+
更多

单集文稿 ...

  • The Economist Hello, this is Rosie Bloor,

  • co-host of The Intelligence, our daily news and current affairs podcast.

  • Welcome to Editor's Picks.

  • We've chosen an article from the latest edition of The Economist that we thought you might enjoy.

  • Please do have a listen.

  • It's as if the honeymoon started to go sour at the airport.

  • Labour won power less than three months ago,

  • yet Sakir Starmer's personal approval ratings now stand below those of Rishi Sunak,

  • the man he replaced as Prime Minister.

  • Insiders brief about dysfunction at the heart of government.

  • The headlines are all about missteps, most obviously over gifts of glasses,

  • clothing and other freebies for Sakir and his wife.

  • The Conservatives suffered their worst defeat in modern history in July.

  • One poll has them just four points behind Labour.

  • Plenty in the party argue that these difficulties are just froth.

  • Polls don't matter when the next election is still almost five years away and the government has a huge majority.

  • New prime ministers always take time to bed in.

  • It's too early for a definitive verdict on this one.

  • Sir Keir himself is dismissive of the politics of noisy performance.

  • What Westminster talks about is not what the country cares about.