"An economy that is stronger, growing faster than our peers" - In Q2 2025, the UK's growth rate matched or exceeded that of most other G7 nations, and on a half-year basis the UK led the G7. However, growth over the past 12 months amounted to a paltry 1.2%, and one being the fastest in the G7 was "like winning a beauty contest amongst your seven ageing friends." The claim was legitimate for parts of 2025 but is a selective framing of modest performance. By early 2026, UK GDP grew by 0.6% in Q1 2026.
"Wages rising faster than inflation in every single month since we came to power" - When unemployment rises and payrolled employment falls, wage averages can be skewed upward because it is often lower-paid workers who lose jobs first. The remaining workforce earns more on average, not because everyone got a raise, but partly because the lower-paid have left the sample. Starmer citing rising wages without acknowledging rising unemployment presents a selectively rosy picture of workers' actual conditions.
"Half a million children being lifted out of poverty because of the choices that I made" - The government's Child Poverty Strategy projected lifting 550,000 children out of relative poverty by 2030 — largely through scrapping the two-child benefit cap. However, this is a projected future outcome, not one yet realised.
"Small boat crossings falling" - Numbers fell in 2023 but rose again, with around 41,000 people detected in 2025 — higher than in 2024. crossings were higher in 2025 than when Labour took office.