PM: Government turning progress into results for working people

The Prime Minister has set out how the government is delivering real progress now while rebuilding Britain’s foundations for the future.

Recent figures show the plan is working:

• Net migration has fallen by almost three quarters to its lowest level since 2021.
• Inflation has dropped faster than expected to 2.8%.
• The UK is the fastest growing economy in the G7, with growth beating expectations at 0.6% in the first quarter.

Together, this progress is strengthening the UK’s resilience in an uncertain world – easing immediate pressures on families while putting the economy on a more stable footing for the long term.

That progress is being felt more widely across the country, as the government rebuilds the public services working people rely on:

• Homicide is at its lowest levels since the 1970s, knife crime is down by 10%, and we have taken more than 63,000 knives off our streets.
• NHS waiting lists are at their lowest level for three and a half years, with the largest single month performance improvement in 17 years.
• There are 4,000 additional teachers across secondary schools, special schools and further education.

With families still feeling the squeeze – and global instability continuing to drive uncertainty – the government is going further to help households with the cost of living, so people can enjoy the everyday moments that make life better.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

“We now have the fastest growing economy in the G7, net migration has fallen, and NHS waiting lists are at their lowest level in three and a half years.

“Our plan is working. And as summer begins, we are going further to bring down the cost of living and make life easier for families, so they have more room to enjoy it.

“This government will keep pushing forward to deliver the change the country voted for.”

Building on that progress, the Prime Minister and Chancellor have acted to ease pressure on families, announcing further cost of living support including VAT cuts on hospitality, free bus travel for children aged 5 to 15 in England throughout August, and targeted tariff reductions to bring down the price of everyday essentials. Together, these measures will help families go further while supporting high streets and local businesses.

That action is being underpinned by growing economic strength. GDP has increased every quarter since 2024, forecasts have been exceeded in the first quarter of this year, and the IMF has upgraded the UK’s growth outlook – all clear signs that economic stability is returning and resilience is being rebuilt.

The government is also driving that resilience by backing businesses to invest and expand, including a landmark trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council – the first such deal by a G7 country – and new legislation to give small firms stronger protection from late payments and the certainty they need to grow.

This comes alongside action to make work pay and back working people – with the National Living Wage increased, 30 hours of funded childcare delivering savings of up to £8,000 per child each year, and stronger rights for 11 million renters through the Renters’ Rights Act.

At the same time, the government is restoring control and strengthening security – closing more than half of asylum hotels and taking further action to tackle the criminality that undermines communities.

Alongside this, the government is rewiring the state to support delivery, with a delivery team in every department, led by a senior civil servant, and performance incentives strengthened so that senior leaders are rewarded for driving results.

This week, the government confirmed senior civil servants’ pay rises will be directly linked to performance to reward the doers, not the talkers. As a package, this is the biggest change to senior civil pay in decades.

This is a government taking a different path – not returning to a status quo that failed working people, but building a stronger, fairer Britain.

From lowering costs and backing families to restoring control and driving growth, the government is delivering the security and stability people expect – and laying the foundations for long-term change.