Keir Starmer brought a triumphant Labour Party back into Downing Street in July 2024 after more than a decade under the Conservatives. Just 18 months later, his position is looking increasingly precarious after his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications boss Tim Allan quit in the wake of the Peter Mandelson controversy.
Here are some of the key issues during Mr Starmer's year-and-a-half in the top job.
2024
5 July: Keir Starmer becomes Prime Minister as the Labour Party wins a huge majority with more than 400 seats at the general election.
23 July: Seven Labour MPs are suspended for backing an SNP motion to abolish the welfare limit, defying the government over the King's Speech that sets out its legislative agenda.
29 July: Chancellor Rachel Reeves announces plans to means-test the winter fuel payment, meaning it would be cut for many pensioners.
July-August: Rioting breaks out across the country after three girls are killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.
August-September: A row erupts over Mr Starmer and other Cabinet ministers accepting gifts from wealthy donors. The Prime Minister, his deputy Angela Rayner and Ms Reeves stopped accepting clothing donations in response, and Mr Starmer later tweaked the rules on ministers accepting gifts and hospitality.
7 October: Downing Street chief of staff Sue Gray quits after weeks of reports of infighting in Number 10 and headlines about "partygate" report author Ms Gray's salary.
30 October: In her first autumn budget, Ms Reeves announces £40 billion a year in extra taxes as well as plans to raise the rate of employers' national insurance contributions (NIC) and reduce inheritance tax relief for farmers.
29 November: Transport secretary Louise Haigh quits her Cabinet role after it emerged that she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.
December: Labour grandee Peter Mandelson is appointed to the UK's top diplomatic post in the US as the ambassador in Washington.
2025
January: Donald Trump enters the White House after being inaugurated as US president. Elon Musk, the billionaire and Mr Trump adviser, starts a war of words with the UK government over the grooming gangs scandal.
25 February: The Prime Minister commits to increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with a view to it hitting 3% in the next parliament.
27 February: Mr Starmer meets Mr Trump at the White House and hands him an invitation for a second state visit.
28 February: Anneliese Dodds quits as international development minister over the government's decision to cut overseas aid to fund a boost to defence spending.
February-March: Following a tempestuous exchange with Mr Trump in the White House, Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in London for a summit at Lancaster House. Mr Starmer leads efforts during the gathering of mainly European leaders to establish a peacekeeping force aimed at deterring Russia in the event an end to the Ukraine war is agreed.
April: Ministers take control of British Steel from its Chinese owner after passing emergency legislation through parliament at a weekend, with the aim of preserving virgin steel-making in the UK. The steel industry is however hit by the threat of tariffs from US President Mr Trump.
1 May: Local elections in England see Labour perform poorly and Reform UK hoover up council seats across the country, as well as gaining a fifth MP in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, a seat previously held by Labour MP Mike Amesbury, who quit after a conviction for punching a constituent.
12 May: Mr Starmer delivers a speech on immigration and says the UK risks becoming an "island of strangers", a phrase that he later said he regretted after it drew comparisons to the language of Enoch Powell.
19 May: Post-Brexit EU "reset" deal reached over issues including defence, food and passport checks.
21 May: Mr Starmer announces a partial U-turn on winter fuel payments, which will see the benefit paid to pensioners receiving up to #35,000 per year at a cost of around £1.25 billion to the Treasury.
22 May: Deal signed to hand back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
11 June: Ms Reeves delivers her spending review, which Labour says marks the end of the first phase of government to stabilise the economy.
June: Mr Starmer confirms he will launch a statutory inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal after resisting pressure for months to implement a full national probe.
17 June: The PM and Mr Trump confirm a trade deal between the UK and US has been completed. It removes the threat of US tariffs on British cars and planes, but a deal is not yet reached on steel imports.
27 June: government announces concessions on welfare reform after more than 100 Labour MPs sign an amendment to halt the Bill's progress in the Commons.
1 July: Mr Starmer suffers the biggest rebellion of his premiership so far, with 49 Labour MPs voting against his welfare proposals despite last-minute concessions.
September: Angela Rayner resigns as deputy prime minister and deputy Labour Party leader after underpaying tax on a flat in Hove. The move sparks a cabinet reshuffle.
September: Mr Starmer sacks Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US over his links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein after email exchanges between the two are published.
September: The Labour Party conference is dominated by reports that Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is seeking to mount a leadership challenge to Mr Starmer.
26 November: Ms Reeves delivers her second budget, confirming that the two-child benefit cap would be scrapped amid mounting pressure to take the decision.
She also abandoned a plan to raise income tax and extended a freeze on thresholds instead, which with previous extensions means millions faced being dragged into paying higher rates.
23 December: In a climbdown after months of protests, the government said it would raise the inheritance tax relief threshold for farmers from £1 million to £2.5 million.
2026
13 January: The latest in a series of U-turns as the government rowed back on its flagship policy of mandatory digital ID, suggesting it would no longer be required to prove someone has the right to work in the UK.
21 January: Mr Trump's wish to annex Greenland caused a divide between America and its traditional European allies, including the UK. Mr Trump ultimately dropped his tariff threats, but Mr Starmer was accused by Green Party leader Zack Polanski of being "completely subservient" to the US president.
22 January : Gorton and Denton Labour MP Andrew Gwynne resigned, citing health reasons. His exit, which sparks a by-election scheduled for 26 February, was thought to pave the way for Mr Burnham to return to parliament but he was later denied permission to stand for the party.
February: Anger in Westminster intensified after the latest release of documents in the so-called Epstein files indicated Peter Mandelson leaked market-sensitive information to his friend while he was a government minister.
Mr Starmer said he was "sorry for having believed Mandelson's lies and appointed him" British ambassador to Washington and insisted that "none of us knew the depth of the darkness" of Peter Mandelson's relationship with the convicted sex offender when he was picked for the role.
8 February: The Prime Minister's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney quits in the wake of the Peter Mandelson row.
9 February: Mr Starmer's communications chief Mr Allan resigns. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on the Prime Minister to quit, saying that the "distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street needs to change", as the Chancellor continued to back Mr Starmer.
