As a teenager who has just finished school, I don’t yet pay tax, rent, or utility bills, nor do I have a regular income. But I am acutely aware that the country I am growing up in is deteriorating day by day. Our ineffective and dishonest Labour government is rapidly running the United Kingdom into the ground. And yet, I have no say in it—I can’t even vote. I am legally permitted to learn to drive and even raise a family—responsibilities far greater than placing a cross on a ballot paper. I will be able to vote in a couple of years, but like many others, I fear that by then it may no longer matter.
In 2024 people voted for change. The Tories, after their 14-year tenure, had run out of steam. On 4 July 2024, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party was elected to government. They promised to support working people, pensioners, children and the poor. The economy was going to ‘boom’, NHS waiting lists were going to come down, the level of illegal immigration was going to be cut, and public spending was going to be effective. Their words, not mine.
They had a reasonably good first few months in office. But after a year the country is now in a worse state than when they took over. Inflation has risen by 3.4% and prices are rising (a bar of chocolate is at its highest price ever), despite their aim of keeping it below 2%. Taxes are going to soar with the new budget set out by Rachel (Thieving) Reeves, £13 billion is going overseas to countries, many of which squander it.
The absurd Chagos Island giveaway is going to cost £101 million a year to lease them back. Inevitably, the British people are feeling the pinch. Very little of their money is being invested in the country. In my own hometown Hull, for example, there is abundant run-down infrastructure and potholes in the roads.
The NHS continues to deteriorate. In their manifesto, Labour planned to provide the country with an extra 40,000 operations, cancer scans and appointments—an estimated two million a year— with the return of the family doctor, by introducing more weekend services, employing more staff, investing more money and involving the private sector, which all could reduce waiting lists. We are still waiting. As of early 2025, the NHS waiting list has reached 6.2 million patients. Over 3.1 million people have waited more than 18 weeks for treatment, and nearly 250,000 have been waiting over a year. This is above the pre-COVID level.
Illegal immigration was going to be controlled and the people smuggling gangs were going to be ‘smashed’. Why then, from year to date, have over 16,000 migrants crossed the English border, which is 42% more than the same period last year? These migrants are illegal, but what is their punishment? They get to stay, often in hotels paid by the British taxpayer and, in some instances, enjoy freebies such as shopping vouchers, sports passes and TV licences.
We have illegal immigrants committing heinous crimes in this country. For example, a Pakistani paedophile and migrant attacked a teenage girl shortly after he was released from prison for committing sexual offences. Despite the Home Office filing a deportation order, and because we are still signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights, he successfully appealed his case because he suffered from alcoholism. Like many similar cases, he remains in the country.
It is not just illegal migrants who commit crimes, legal immigrants play their part too. Consider the recent grooming gangs’ scandal. More openly talked about recently, delays have often spanned 5 to 15 years between the start of abuse and serious legal action. These delays were caused by institutional neglect, disbelief of victims, fears around accusations of racism, and a lack of coordination between police and social services. Many of the perpetrators were British citizens, either born in the UK or legally settled there, often second- or third-generation immigrants. The victims, some of whom were very young at the time of the abuse, have been badly let down. The Labour party were not going to investigate the case when they first assumed office. But after facing criticism, they made a U-turn, which leads nicely to the next topic.
The Winter Fuel Allowance was originally taken from pensioners, which would have seen many older people struggle to keep warm during the coldest parts of the year. This prompted a deserved backlash and after a few months of hanging their heads in shame, it was eventually reinstated. But the thought of taking money from pensioners is egregious. Then came the Two-Child Benefit Cap. Starmer was determined to keep the cap, which would see families with more than two children not receive benefits for the rest of their brood. Again, this completely contradicted Labour’s manifesto plan to help children. Starmer received a pep talk from one of his aides and after Scotland lifted it, he has now not ruled out scrapping it.
The catalogue of lies and incompetence grows. It is evident Labour have broken their promises. When challenged, the only excuse they have is blaming the previous government alongside the fictional £22 billion black hole. The public are making their feelings clear. They are running out of patience and the government is running out of time.
In the recent local elections, the Labour Party came fourth in the polls, losing hundreds of seats. Reform UK won 677 seats overall, putting them in first place. It is evident Labour is concerned, as they are now prioritising challenging Reform – the real opposition in all but name. They are the only party which seems determined to prioritise the British people.
The British people voted for change—but what they received was more of the same: broken promises; spiralling costs, and worsening public services. Labour’s excuses are wearing thin, and their credibility is evaporating. With every U-turn and failure, the public grows more disillusioned and more determined to find real leadership. If Labour cannot deliver for the nation, they should step aside for those who can. The people deserve better.
Jack Watson has a Substack newsletter called Ten Foot Tigers about being a Hull City fan. You can subscribe here.
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A litany of failed promises well articulated….but I disagree with the part where you say they “…had a reasonably good first few months in office.” They did not, in fact those first few months ( Southport and subsequent weeks) set the tone for the ensuing months…..it was like Starmer waved the Labour equivalent of the Jolly Roger with menace. Starmer’s Labour government is now rotting wood, crawling with maggots….voting to allow unborn infants to be ‘disposed of’ anytime the mother sees fit, voting for assisted suicide- that wasn’t in their all singing all change Manifesto ( of lies). Yes….there was Tory, Liberal and Reform ( Tice and Pochin) support for assisted suicide but that Bill had no business being on the government’s agenda.
As you outlined there are far more important things demanding attention. However, Starmer has said he prefers Davos to the House of Commons because he can work with those people to do things. We, the voters, are surplus to his requirements . He sees himself as a statesman with stature on the world stage….if he looked in the mirror he’d see nothing but wobble and hubris, sans principle, sans reason. He is a betrayer not a portrayer of all that could be good for your generation.
Jack, you say “we” voted for change. Only 20% voted for Labour and that was based on the turnout, not the registered electorate. Democracy is a complete sham. The majority has no right to impose its views on the minority and this view is based on everyone in the majority having exactly the same view, which is nonsense. Read Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophy based on the individual and not the collective. I also think that Frank Chodorov is worth reading. He points out the humans have always looked for the easiest ways of doing things, and now the easiest way to live is to live off the taxes paid by someone else. All politicians now have to buy votes by offering benefits.
A couple of thoughts, one of which Jack may not like:
Firstly, 16 is too young to be given the vote, as many 16 year olds and even older are effectively still children and yes of course it makes no sense to also permit some of the other things that are allowed at that age, particularly driving and raising a family.
Secondly, Labour stepping aside for someone else who is competent is a very tall order, given that there is no one else remotely competent unless naively believing that Reform are something that they are not and will deliver.
A well written piece, though I too have to disagree with lowering the voting age. And isn’t it good to know that someone found a spare half a million quid to have the Gov.uk logo redesigned? We can’t be that hard up then.
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