Prime Minister Keir Starmer used a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to defend his government’s performance on the eve of its first anniversary in power. According to a summary of the session provided by people familiar with the discussion, Starmer told ministers they could "rightly look back with a real sense of pride and achievement," arguing that a series of politically difficult decisions over the past 12 months had laid a platform for further policy delivery. The remarks come after criticism that the Labour administration lacks a clearly articulated governing mission. Starmer acknowledged the need to communicate the government’s overarching purpose more effectively but maintained that actions taken during the first year—ranging from defence and industrial-policy reviews to contested welfare changes—had positioned the UK for long-term growth and stability.