Labour election victory: Keir Starmer’s first 100 days in power – what to expect

The Labour Party has won a landslide victory in the general election after six weeks of intense campaigning, with Sir Keir Starmer becoming the new Prime Minister of the UK.

Taking power from defeated Rishi Sunak, the leader promised in his manifesto that a vote for Labour was a vote for change.

From tackling NHS waiting lists to overturning the Conservatives’ Rwandan deportation policy, here are some of the big issues voters can expect to see action on in Labour’s first 100 days in power:

Cancel Rwanda policy

Labour has confirmed it will scrap the Conservatives’ controversial Rwandan asylum plan. Designed to deter illegal immigration, the scheme would see asylum seekers whose applications to stay in the UK are rejected flown to Rwanda for processing and resettlement.

Sir Keir said he would end the policy immediately, directing funding towards actions to tackle the problem “at source”.

The most important of them is the creation of a new Border Protection Command and an anti-terrorist unit whose task will be to “break up” gangs of people smugglers and solve the problem of crossing the border on small boats.

Non-resident tax loopholes closed

While the Conservatives announced they were abolishing non-resident tax status in April, Labour plans to go a step further, pledging to end a temporary loophole that would have given non-residents a chance to avoid paying significant amounts of inheritance tax before the changes come into effect on 1 April 2025.

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves says the change could raise an extra £2.6bn, on top of the £3.2bn that experts at the CAGE Research Centre estimate could be raised each year under the change.

Labour said the money would be used mainly for the NHS, with education and HMRC also being funded.

Free breakfast clubs in primary schools

Labour has pledged to introduce free breakfast clubs for all primary school children as one of the “first steps” in tackling poverty. The party’s manifesto says it will be funded from revenue from the non-residents’ crackdown and the fight against tax avoidance.

“Every day our children are in school is incredibly important,” said Bridget Phillipson, shadow education secretary, when announcing the decision. “It damages their life chances when they are not there.”

Great British Energy

Labour’s most expensive policy, Great British Energy, will be a publicly owned clean energy company. The policy aims to permanently reduce energy bills by reducing the UK’s dependence on overseas suppliers.

The party says it will create thousands of jobs and provide Britain with 100 per cent clean energy by 2030. The project has been earmarked for £8.3bn over the next parliament. While it is unlikely to be up and running within 100 days of a Labour government taking office, progress will need to be made to meet its ambitious targets.

Develop the economy

Labour promised the fewest revenue-raising measures of any party in the run-up to the general election, with Sir Keir insisting it was the “party of wealth creation”.

The party manifesto says this will be achieved through tougher spending rules, partnerships with businesses and a “National Wealth Fund” that will provide £7.3bn for industrial investment during the next parliament.

Institute of Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson has criticised Labour’s spending plans, calling them “trivial”, arguing that the planned increase “will take some time to achieve”.

A key measure of Labour’s success will be inflation and interest rates. The party will want to keep inflation at the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target – reached just before the election – and cut interest rates to sustainable levels.

End of tax breaks for private schools

A key revenue-raising measure promised by Labour is the introduction of VAT and business rates for private schools. These schools currently enjoy tax relief because of their charitable status (which would technically remain).

The most important change is the introduction of VAT, which means a 20 percent increase in fees that could be passed on to the parents who pay them.

Labour estimates the measure will raise £1.5bn a year, a figure endorsed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The party says the money will be largely redistributed to state education, particularly to recruit 6,500 new teachers.

However, Rachel Reeves confirmed that while work would start immediately, the VAT change would not take place until 2025.

More NHS visits

Labour’s most significant commitment to the NHS is to drastically cut the country’s ever-growing waiting list by introducing 40,000 new appointments a week.

While it is unlikely the Government will achieve this target in the first 100 days, waiting lists will be a key indicator that Labour will consider as it rolls out its plans.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting says the target will be achieved by encouraging staff to carry out more out-of-hours appointments and using “spare capacity” in the private sector to relieve pressure on the NHS.

It is one of Labour’s more expensive plans, estimated to cost £1 billion a year by 2028/29. The party says it will be funded by closing tax loopholes for non-residents and tackling tax avoidance.