Keir Starmer has even been outmaneuvered by Donald Trump on the matter of his own resignation.

When Starmer entered Downing Street nearly two years ago, Trump was still fighting to be re-elected US President. But Starmer, ill-suited to the world shaped by Trump, is set to step down later this summer, becoming yet another British Prime Minister to leave office prematurely.

Until the very end, Starmer hoped for time to consider his decision. But the outside world was unwilling to wait.

"Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom," Trump posted a day before Starmer's statement outside 10 Downing Street.

Starmer's steady, managerial demeanour helped the then-opposition Labour Party win support when the public had grown weary of Boris Johnson's flamboyance and theatrics. However, this style proved out of step with the era in which he governed.

"He hated that Westminster game that so many people love, but unfortunately, to survive as Prime Minister, you need to play it a little bit," said his former communications director, James Lyons. He added that Starmer's willingness to accommodate MPs within his own party was seen as a weakness. "In the end, even his concessions weren't enough to satisfy Labour backbenchers," he said.

Labour's "deceptively" overwhelming victory in the July 2024 election gave Starmer the largest majority since 1997, but with the lowest share of the vote for any post-war Prime Minister achieving an absolute win.

This meant an unstable parliamentary situation, with a large number of Labour MPs elected on slim majorities. At the first sign of trouble for themselves, they were ready to abandon their "boss." This scenario unfolded quickly as Starmer struggled against the reshaping of the political landscape by Trump's populist ally Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party.

Now, hopes rest on Andy Burnham to curb the rise of this right-wing force; the former Manchester mayor's decisive victory over a Farage-backed candidate in the Makefield by-election paved the way for his own challenge for the premiership.

Starmer's missteps began early.

Cutting winter fuel payments for some pensioners angered left-wing MPs, taxing employers frustrated businesses, and accepting high-end clothing from a party donor damaged his image with voters across the political spectrum.

Starmer inherited dire public finances, with a deficit at 5% of GDP, total debt nearing 100% of GDP, and public services in a poor state. NHS waiting lists had hit a record 7.8 million.

In its first budget in October 2024, Labour prioritised improving public services, planning to raise £40 billion ($53 billion) through taxes and borrow £30 billion. However, Labour's decision to honour its manifesto pledge not to raise taxes on personal income or profits meant the burden fell on business. New levies on private school fees, inherited farmland, and private equity added to a sense of betrayal among executives whom Labour had courted during the campaign.

While scrapping the two-child benefit cap lifted 450,000 children out of poverty, increases in the minimum wage and payroll taxes raised labour costs, prompting businesses to seek to recoup them through price hikes and job cuts.

The higher minimum wage put pressure on employment and pushed up prices. Payroll data showed employment fell by nearly 200,000, and by last September, inflation had rebounded to 3.8% from the 2% when Starmer took office.

The Bank of England blamed the government for much of the inflation rise, and investors pushed up government bond yields. Starmer sought to allay these concerns early last year with a plan to cut £5 billion from the welfare budget, but it sparked a backbench revolt and was abandoned, marking one of the first major U-turns to damage him.

Starmer's government never escaped the shadow of the populism of Farage and Trump. Before Starmer's resignation speech, Trump pre-emptively highlighted two critical issues that were not only Starmer's greatest vulnerabilities but will be major challenges for his successor.

"He messed up two very important issues — immigration and energy," Trump wrote.

Net migration has continued to fall from its peak under the Conservatives after Labour tightened policies on residency and citizenship for low-income earners. However, this failed to stop the rise of right-wing parties, who have made immigration one of the most prominent issues in UK politics, especially as illegal arrivals remain high.

Although Farage's Reform UK won only 5 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons in 2024, it came second in another 98 constituencies. Nine months after the new parliament convened, they rose to first place in opinion polls and have not fallen since.

On energy, Starmer's cabinet achieved some results but failed to win the political debate. The independent Climate Change Committee said its expansion of renewables and the grid made the UK's 2050 net-zero target "within reach." Yet, Farage still successfully weaponised the issue to attack the government.

A third thorny issue, unmentioned in Trump's post, is foreign relations. Despite their vastly different governing styles, Starmer initially won favour with the US President. But Starmer's refusal to join military action against Iran has recently strained the relationship.

It was Starmer's attempt to adapt to the "Trump environment" that led to the most damaging scandal of his tenure. Breaking with convention, he appointed as ambassador to the US not a career diplomat but a veteran party operator — Peter Mandelson — who had twice resigned from Labour governments under controversy.

Previous reporting revealed emails showing Mandelson's ties to the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were far closer than he had told Starmer. This prompted the ambassador's resignation, and the scandal raged for months, from which Starmer never truly recovered.

Starmer entered politics late in his career after years as a lawyer, including serving as Director of Public Prosecutions. He entered Parliament in 2015 as his party was embroiled in fierce internal battles over its identity after the New Labour era.

He rose rapidly under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. After two election defeats, Starmer succeeded Corbyn in 2019 with a left-leaning platform promising to prioritise common ownership and public service investment, strikingly similar to what Burnham advocates now.

However, Starmer struggled to stick to this line in government, and Labour's political dilemmas will persist after his departure. Even his past willingness to back Burnham's (ultimately failed) leadership bid suggests the party's old problems will resurface.

"We are lucky to have such excellent candidates, each with their own strengths, but I am backing Andy Burnham," Starmer wrote in 2015. "He has extensive parliamentary experience and the ability to keep the party united as we discuss our future goals and vision."