2025: Labour’s year of pain?
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 3 January 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After a rocky start in office for Labour, the next 12 months will prove pivotal for the UK government. Sir Keir Starmer must grapple with dismal popularity ratings, tough public finances, anaemic growth forecasts and a string of challenging policy decisions. Opposition parties also face key tests. Can Tory leader Kemi Badenoch silence critics’ warnings about her low visibility and output, and can Reform UK’s Nigel Farage prove his party’s momentum is real and not mere mirage? Host Lucy Fisher is joined by FT colleagues Robert Shrimsley, Stephen Bush and Jim Pickard to gaze into their crystal balls and consider the year ahead. They discuss the coming local elections, the spectre of Westminster by-elections, the impact of Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office and more.
Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, Jim @PickardJE, Stephen @stephenkb and Robert @robertshrimsley
Want more? Free links:
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Keir Starmer promises year of ‘rebuilding’ for UK in 2025
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Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Lulu Smyth. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Right, political fixes, this is our look-ahead episode for the next 12 months. |
| 0:04.3 | Fill in the blank, 2025 will be the year of... |
| 0:07.8 | Donald Trump. |
| 0:09.3 | Tesla Brown becoming toxic in Britain. |
| 0:12.0 | Recession. |
| 0:14.9 | Welcome to Political Fix from the Financial Times with me, Lucy Fisher. |
| 0:19.0 | It's 2025. Happy New Year. But will it be a happy year for |
| 0:22.9 | labour, or does pain await? The Tories and Reform UK also face major tests of strength in the 12 |
| 0:28.9 | months ahead. I'm going to be gazing into my crystal ball with the help of my FT colleague, |
| 0:33.4 | Stephen Bush. Hi, Stephen. Hi, Lucy. Robert Schimbsley. Hi, Robert. Hey, happy new year. And Jim Picard. Hi, Jim. Hi, Lucy. Robert Shimsley. Hi, Robert. Hey, happy new year. |
| 0:40.1 | And Jim Picard. Hi, Jim. Happy New Year, Lucy. |
| 0:50.2 | So should we kick off with Labour? We know how the normal run of play goes. A new administration bursts onto the scene with a flurry of activity and announcements and then has a slightly quieter period. |
| 0:56.6 | But with the Labour government, it feels to me we've had quite a sleepy start. |
| 1:01.3 | And this is going to be a big year for a lot of policy decisions that have been deferred. |
| 1:05.5 | Robert, what are you looking out for on that front? |
| 1:08.1 | Well, I mean, I agree with your analysis. |
| 1:09.5 | They have done quite a few things, and there's quite a lot more to come, particularly I'm |
| 1:13.0 | planning. |
| 1:14.0 | But I think the one that we have to really look for, apart from the general issue of the economy, |
| 1:17.3 | is the NHS. |
| 1:18.4 | I think that Labor came in with its two big missions would get the economy sorted again |
| 1:23.7 | and fix the NHS. |
... |
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