'Keir Starmer should put us out of our misery and just go,' says Jacob Rees Mogg

After a dreadful 2025, the Prime Minister appears to be heading for an even worse 2026. His first full year in office was defined by scandal, policy failure and an irreparable loss of authority.

The question now is not whether his premiership is damaged, but whether it can even survive the year ahead.

Sir Keir Starmer cannot lead the country effectively.

His approval ratings are historically low, among the worst ever recorded for a sitting Prime Minister, and after 18 months in office, he has failed to earn the public’s trust.

The UK’s economic performance under his leadership is weak and deteriorating, with investment now reportedly at the lowest level in the G7.

Repeated policy reversals, particularly on welfare and disability benefits, have created a lasting impression of weakness and indecision.

Vacillation has become his defining trait.

His push for closer alignment with the European Union has further alienated Brexit supporters, widening the gulf between the Prime Minister and large sections of the electorate.

The damage to his credibility was compounded by “freebies-gate” at the end of 2024, when it emerged that the Prime Minister had accepted thousands of pounds’ worth of gifts, hospitality and tickets to sporting and cultural events.

The fallout, accusations of hypocrisy and poor judgement, followed him throughout 2025.

Then came the November Budget. Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves broke clear manifesto commitments on income tax, having already done so the year before on National Insurance.

Stealth tax rises through frozen thresholds increased the burden on working people, while the welfare budget ballooned by £15 billion.

Money was taken from workers and redistributed elsewhere, even as pre-Budget leaks revealed a Government unable to control its own affairs.

Taken together, these episodes have hollowed out the Prime Minister’s authority and reinforced the sense of a Government that is inert, exhausted and devoid of purpose.

Throughout 2025, Labour’s primary deflection tactic was to launch personal attacks on Nigel Farage — a strategy it appears in no hurry to abandon in the new year.

As one Labour figure put it: “You get a lot of slippery things said by Nigel Farage but when you hold them up to the light, they’re not actually true.”

But the reason Labour keeps doing this is obvious: it is terrified of Reform, which is now even gaining traction among voters on platforms like Mumsnet.

So what does Nigel Farage have that Keir Starmer does not? Charisma. Personality. And, crucially, an ability to connect with voters.

Without endorsing any particular successor, it is striking that almost anyone else on Labour’s front bench offers something Sir Keir lacks.

Wes Streeting brings character. Angela Rayner brings charisma. Ed Miliband, at the very least, brings zeal even if it is for a barmy net zero agenda. Andy Burnham brings gravitas and presence.

And Sir Keir? He signifies nothing. He is not even full of sound and fury. He has become an empty space, a vacuum at the heart of Government.

For his sake, and for the country’s, perhaps it is time he simply put us all out of our misery — including his own — and went.