PM: Government ‘turning progress into results for working people’

Keir Starmer has set out how the government is delivering real progress now while rebuilding Britain’s foundations for the future. But does anyone believe him?

  •  PM says “our plan is working” as government delivers results on costs, migration control and growth 
  • Net migration down sharply to its lowest since 2021, inflation down faster than expected to 2.8%, and UK the fastest-growing economy in the G7 in the first quarter of the year  
  • “Great British Summer Savings” to help families afford more time together this summer 

The Prime Minister has set out how the government is delivering real progress now while rebuilding Britain’s foundations for the future.  

Recent figures show the plan is working: 

  • Net migration has fallen by almost three quarters to its lowest level since 2021. 
  • Inflation has dropped faster than expected to 2.8%. 
  • The UK is the fastest growing economy in the G7, with growth beating expectations at 0.6% in the first quarter. 

Together, this progress is strengthening the UK’s resilience in an uncertain world – easing immediate pressures on families while putting the economy on a more stable footing for the long term. 

That progress is being felt more widely across the country, as the government rebuilds the public services working people rely on: 

  • Homicide is at its lowest levels since the 1970s, knife crime is down by 10%, and we have taken more than 63,000 knives off our streets. 
  • NHS waiting lists are at their lowest level for three and a half years, with the largest single month performance improvement in 17 years.
  • There are 4,000 additional teachers across secondary schools, special schools and further education. 

With families still feeling the squeeze – and global instability continuing to drive uncertainty – the government is going further to help households with the cost of living, so people can enjoy the everyday moments that make life better. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “We now have the fastest growing economy in the G7, net migration has fallen, and NHS waiting lists are at their lowest level in three and a half years.  

“Our plan is working. And as summer begins, we are going further to bring down the cost of living and make life easier for families, so they have more room to enjoy it. 

“This government will keep pushing forward to deliver the change the country voted for.” 

Building on that progress, the Prime Minister and Chancellor have acted to ease pressure on families, announcing further cost of living support including VAT cuts on hospitality, free bus travel for children aged 5 to 15 in England throughout August, and targeted tariff reductions to bring down the price of everyday essentials. Together, these measures will help families go further while supporting high streets and local businesses. 

That action is being underpinned by growing economic strength. GDP has increased every quarter since 2024, forecasts have been exceeded in the first quarter of this year, and the IMF has upgraded the UK’s growth outlook – all clear signs that economic stability is returning and resilience is being rebuilt. 

The government is also driving that resilience by backing businesses to invest and expand, including a landmark trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council – the first such deal by a G7 country – and new legislation to give small firms stronger protection from late payments and the certainty they need to grow.

This comes alongside action to make work pay and back working people – with the National Living Wage increased, 30 hours of funded childcare delivering savings of up to £8,000 per child each year, and stronger rights for 11 million renters through the Renters’ Rights Act. 

At the same time, the government is restoring control and strengthening security – closing more than half of asylum hotels and taking further action to tackle the criminality that undermines communities. 

Alongside this, the government is rewiring the state to support delivery, with a delivery team in every department, led by a senior civil servant, and performance incentives strengthened so that senior leaders are rewarded for driving results. 

This week, the government confirmed senior civil servants’ pay rises will be directly linked to performance to reward the doers, not the talkers. As a package, this is the biggest change to senior civil pay in decades. 

This is a government taking a different path – not returning to a status quo that failed working people, but building a stronger, fairer Britain. 

From lowering costs and backing families to restoring control and driving growth, the government is delivering the security and stability people expect – and laying the foundations for long-term change.

SECURITY? Peter Mandelson scandal

STABILITY? Internal civil war forcing unneccesary by-election

Renewal and re-engagement: A Parliament for all of Scotland

Measures to make the Scottish Parliament more efficient, topical and effective are to be put into place by Presiding Officer Kenneth Gibson MSP. 

The changes, which the Parliament was informed of today, will be part of what the Presiding Officer calls “renewal and re-engagement”.

There will now be two First Minister’s Questions a week, with 30 minutes on a Tuesday for backbenchers and 30 minutes on a Thursday from Party Leaders.

MSPs were informed of the changes by the Presiding Officer during a meeting of the Parliament on Thursday. 

The Presiding Officer also informed Members that:

  • Time taken for interventions will be added, to protect the time of speakers who most engage
  • Labour and Reform will alternate each week in leading off on questions in First Minister’s Questions, debates and statements
  • Chamber Business will run from 2pm to 5.30pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to provide more time for scrutiny in the Chamber
  • Chamber Business will run from 1.30pm to 5pm on Thursdays to accommodate more time for committee business in the morning
  • Questions to the First Minister will no longer be published in advance
  • There will be 18 general questions a week, 10 more than previously
  • Members will have to identify relevant procedure when making points of order
  • Events and cross-party groups will be permitted during Members’ debates to prevent delays to visitors 

Informing MSPs of the changes, the Presiding Officer, Kenneth Gibson MSP, said: “Parliament needs renewal and re-engagement – with independent, innovative and open-minded leadership. That’s of critical importance and exactly what I’ll provide. 

“We need to de-clutter and simplify how we work, make Parliament more efficient, topical end effective for those we represent. 

“The collegiate working anticipated in the 90s, prior to Devolution, has not fully transpired. The status quo is not an option – and I’m keen to push at the boundaries of what’s possible within my remit.” 

Watch Presiding Officer’s Proposals for the Parliamentary Week