‘It’s unforgivable to go in without a plan’: Starmer’s first 100 days of chaos and scandal criticized by Blair-era official, who says ‘the point of government is really to want to do something’.

Sir Keir Starmer has been criticized by his Labor predecessors for coming into government without a solid plan, as the prime minister grapples with a series of scandals that threaten to undermine his time in No 10 with barely a foot in the door.

Officials from the New Labor era – the last time the party was in government before falling to power in 2010 – have been watching from the sidelines in horror as their successors bounce from crisis to crisis.

Labour’s own manifesto had lamented: “For too long, Britain has been held back by governments which, because they lack a relentless focus on long-term ends, are rocked by events.”

But those who came before say Sir Keir’s government has done the same, twisting in the wind as it struggles to hold onto power and appease the public while taking unpopular decisions such as scrapping the winter fuel payment .

One Blair-era official suggested that the new inhabitants of Downing Street had arrived without a plan for what they wanted to do with their time in charge.

Sir Keir Starmer has been criticized by his New Labor predecessors, who have suggested he came into government without a plan.

Blair-era pundits have suggested Sir Keir and his team are missing the public view of the early scandals besetting the government, including the donations scandal (pictured: Tony Blair and his wife Cherie poc after winning the 1997 election)

Labor has weathered a series of scandals since coming into government three months ago, including controversial donations provided by Lord Alli (pictured)

Sir Keir bowed to pressure and agreed to return £6,000 in donations, including a clothing hire contract for his wife Victoria (pictured)

“It’s kind of unforgivable to go in without any kind of plan. I mean, that’s the point of being in government. You have to actually want to do something,” the official told the New Yorker.

The US magazine has profiled Sir Keir’s first 100 days in a scathing article titled “Keir Starmer’s Bafflingly Bad Start as UK Prime Minister”, a period dominated by allegations of cronyism and scandal.

Sir Keir told the BBC’s Newscast podcast today that his first 100 days have been beset by “hectic days” and “bumps and crosswinds”, a diplomatic take on an almost innumerable number of scandals.

Sir Keir has been criticized for accepting thousands of pounds in donations of glasses, clothes and even the use of an £18 million flat, the latter, he said, so his son could study for his GCSE away from number 10.

But he eventually secured £6,000 for Taylor Swift tickets and a clothes hire deal for his wife Victoria amid intense political pressure, while Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves agreed to stop accepting clothes from powerful donors .

And the Home Office has been forced to hit back at reports that Yvette Cooper personally intervened to ensure Taylor Swift received a full police escort at her Wembley shows after the star’s mother – also the his manager insisted, under penalty of canceling the shows.

There was also fury when Lord Alli, a Blair-era House of Lords appointee, was given a temporary pass at No 10 despite having no official government role, while other figures linked to Labor left quickly lead to public jobs.

The official who spoke to the New Yorker despaired of the position taken in the early days of the donations scandal: that ministers had “played by the rules”, regardless of how it appeared to the public.

He said: “They say we’ve followed the rules, so what’s wrong with that? They don’t think about what this actually looks like, and that’s politics. If you miss it, it makes it a lot worse.”

Labor has come under fire for deciding to scrap the universal winter fuel payment, one of his biggest policy moves in government so far.

Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alistair Campbell (pictured) says the government’s “conversation” with the British public has been “largely missing” since Labor came to power

Sir Keir’s government may be “adrift”, according to an official who worked under Tony Blair

Sue Gray resigned as Chief of Staff after it was revealed she was being paid more than her boss, the Prime Minister.

In the wake of the donations scandal, rules on gift declarations are to be tightened so that ministers declare hospitality and gifts linked to their government jobs as part of MPs’ register of interests.

The separation between ministerial and parliamentary gifts was created under the Conservative government of David Cameron.

There are suggestions from some observers of the Blair era that Sir Keir and his team are simply lost and overwhelmed: that after years in opposition calling for change, they are stymied by an inability to come up with a concrete plan .

And all this, apart from the real policy decisions the government has taken so far: most notably the scrapping of the universal winter fuel payment for pensioners.

It could be seen as rich, literally, from a man who accepted thousands of pounds in free clothes.

Among those watching conscientiously is Alastair Campbell, the legendary spin doctor who inspired Malcolm Tucker in The Thick Of It and spin-off film In The Loop.

After the author of the Partygate report, Sue Gray, resigned – some say reluctantly – from her role as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff after it was revealed she was earning more than him, Campbell appeared to suggest that the government had lacked courage.

He told the BBC: “Government is more difficult than opposition. And government is not just about the technocratic execution of policy and change.

“It’s about the relentless, never-ending, never-ending conversation you have with the country about what you’re trying to do for the country. And I think it’s fair to say that piece has largely been missing.”

John McTernan, Tony Blair’s former political secretary, says the Government is “adrift”.

Among the donations returned by Sir Keir was £3,398 from six Taylor Swift tickets to her shows at Wembley (pictured: The Shake It Off singer performing in London in August)

Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves (pictured, left and right) also agreed to stop accepting clothing donations.

Almost half of Labor voters are now experiencing buyer’s remorse, according to a new poll assessing the first 100 days of Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner’s government.

Brutal new polling by YouGov reveals 47% of Labor voters say they feel disappointed in the government’s first 100 days.

He told Times Radio earlier this month: “I think the government has completely lost control of its operations, control of the media network and they don’t have control over communications.

‘This has been because they have lacked a political narrative and the political drive and momentum that led them to a great victory in the elections.

“It seemed to run out after the sitting weeks ended in July and we went into the August recess. It went from the country calling for change to a government drifting.”

Sir Keir remains determined to be able to turn things around, telling the Newscast: “There are always going to be hectic days, hectic times, I’ve been through that before, you have those days and weeks when things are hectic.

“You can’t help it, that’s the nature of government, you’re under enormous scrutiny.”

And his biographer Tom Baldwin likened the situation to tiptoeing through a minefield, adding: “When he recognizes there’s a problem, he’s pretty ruthless.”

With Sue Gray gone and the rules on donations tightened, there is talk that the government is effectively looking for a “reset” and a fresh start.

But a new YouGov poll suggests almost half of Labor voters are feeling buyer’s remorse, expressing “disappointment” at the government’s performance so far.

Sir Keir has given himself the unenviable task of starting over, but from a less popular position than he found himself 100 days ago.