What were the government’s biggest highs and most catastrophic lows in 2025?

We’re coming to the end of the first full calendar year under a Labour government since 2009 – and how has it gone?

A kind answer might be: ‘It could have been smoother.’

Less charitably, it’s gone badly enough to dent the British public’s faith in mainstream politics as a whole.

There’s been open chat about whether a leadership challenge to Keir Starmer could happen in less than six months’ time, once we learn the results of May’s local elections.

Whether or not that thirsty speculation is a holdover from Tory chaos, it’s not exactly ideal for a sitting Prime Minister.

But amid all the gossip and fury, it can be hard to recall how we ended up here. What specifically happened to make the PM and his government so unpopular, and what are the wins that could form a counterargument?

Here are my picks for Labour’s top and bottom moments for 2025.

What were the government’s best moments this year?

Trade deal season

For a few weeks in May this year, it seemed like the government simply couldn’t stop striking major trade deals.

First came the deal with India. Then, just a couple of days later, a major agreement was announced with the US. And shortly afterwards, there was the first UK-EU summit since Brexit with talk of a ‘reset deal’.

The US deal in particular proved to be more complex than it was perhaps first made out to be – but the amount of time ministers still spend trumpeting these deals demonstrate how proud of them they are.

Renters’ Rights Act

Of the 30 or so pieces of legislation granted Royal Assent in 2025, the Renters’ Rights Act may be the one that ends up directly impacting the most people.

Effective from the start of May 2026, it brings in a raft of major changes to the private rental sector in England.

This includes the scrapping of section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions – something the Tories tried and failed to achieve before they were booted out last year – and the end of fixed-term leases.

Action on abusers

One of the most ambitious bits in Labour’s election manifesto last year was a target of halving violence against women and girls (VAWG) in ten years.

Through our year-long This Is Not Right campaign, Metro has put a spotlight on victims and called for urgent action in this area.

While there’s still plenty of work to do, the government’s Crime and Policing Bill contains a number of measures aimed at tackling VAWG, and Home Office Minister Jess Phillips announced last month that a new protection order for victims had been used more than 1,000 times in its first year.

Trump on tour

It’s become a running theme that whenever this government has a major announcement or event, something will happen shortly beforehand to derail it.

That certainly seemed to be the case with Donald Trump’s long-awaited state visit in mid-September, which was preceded by the sacking of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

But in the end, the visit was about as gaffe-free as Starmer could have hoped – even a pitfall-laden press conference at Chequers ended without major embarrassment.

What were the government’s worst moments this year?

Immigration, immigration, immigration

There’s no escaping from anger around immigration both legal and illegal, and that’s been the case since long before the 2024 election.

However, this was the year of the Epping asylum protests, Keir Starmer’s now-notorious ‘island of strangers’ speech (which he later said he regretted), and Reform’s spectacular wins at the local elections.

The government has struggled to convince the public it’s getting a grip – and hardliner new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has a challenge on her hands, with the number of asylum hotel residents rising over the summer.

What do you think are the government’s best and worst moments of 2025? Let us know in the comments below.

Burnham’s bid and a briefing blow-up

As mentioned above, this year it seemed every big move by the government was accompanied by an awkward complication – and sometimes that service was providing by Labour itself.

Take Andy Burnham’s ill-fated efforts to build opposition to Starmer ahead of the party conference, which ended up weakening both men.

Then there was the muddled briefing from the PM’s allies last month, suggesting Wes Streeting was plotting a coup – all of it has just eroded the leader’s authority.

Rayner steps down

The most shocking resignation this year was, of course, Angela Rayner – then serving as Deputy PM, Housing Secretary and deputy leader of the Labour Party.

Her departure in September – which came after she admitted underpaying tax on a seaside flat – deprived the government of a strong communicator and key voice on the left.

If there was a silver lining for the PM, it’s that this story overshadowed Reform’s party conference. And who knows, maybe we’ll see a comeback in 2026…

Neverending Budget headaches

It hasn’t been an easy year for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has struggled to get the British economy growing despite declaring that as her number one priority.

In June, she had to deal with a massive U-turn from the government over reforms to Pip and other benefits, which she had hoped would save plenty of money from the welfare bill.

Then her heavily anticipated Budget was clouded by questions over whether she had been clear enough with the public about the reasons for her tax rises.

In a speech at the beginning of December, Starmer told the public: ‘In the year ahead, you will see the benefits of our approach. Not just in the national statistics, but in your communities.’

Check back with us this time next year to find out if he was right.

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