‘A mess of our own making’: Labour mayors reflect on Starmer’s first year | Labour

Keir Starmer’s government appears “disjointed” from the rest of the Labour party just a year after taking power, regional mayors have said, with one blaming No 10 for overseeing “a mess of our own making”.

Steve Rotheram, the Labour mayor of Liverpool city region, said Downing Street’s repeated missteps were “winding up” people who wanted to back the government.

Speaking as the party marked 12 months in government after a stunning election win last summer, during which Starmer campaigned on an agenda of national renewal centred around a message of “change”, Rotherham said people were willing to forgive the occasional miscalculation but that the climbdowns over winter fuel payments and the welfare bill had left Starmer’s operation looking like “a mess”.

He said:…