Starmer is heading for his 100-day moment under a cloud

He's sacked his chief of staff and must turn things around sharp

- Beth Rigby

In the coming days, you're going to hear a lot about Sir Keir Starmer's first 100 days. There will be newspaper interviews to mark the moment when it arrives on Sunday, a trip to Scotland to convene his new council for the nations and regions, and a big investment summit early next week. The PM will be all over the television trying to tell you how he's changing this country, as the columns land - like this one - dissecting his performance to date.

In the case of Starmer, it has been, by any measure, a dreadful first 100 days. The fresh start he promised in the election has given way to a false start. He is marking his three months in office with an entire overhaul of his top team after his No 10 operation became paralysed by infighting, while his personal ratings plummeted over rows about freebies.

His net approval rating this week fell to minus 33 a drop of 44 points since his post-election high, while one poll out this week put Labour just one point ahead of the Tories.

A winner-takes-all battle

It is not what they hoped for. A No 10 insider acknowledges it's been "incredibly frustrating" but insists "some of it has been inevitable".