Top 10 Biggest Labour Fails

#10: Ed Miliband Sandwich

For most of us, it’s virtually impossible to be photographed while eating and look good. Unfortunately for Ed Miliband, a journalist captured a picture of him at probably the worst possible moment, halfway through eating a bacon sandwich. The image became a massive meme, with the press relentlessly publishing it, like The Sun, which made it their frontpage photo just before the general election. Many people claim it cost him the election, but Miliband denies this. We’d be lying if we said his reputation didn’t suffer massively, and it’s probably the main thing most people remember him for.

#9: Angry Scouser

Many Labour supporters believe the party’s ideology has shifted massively in the past few decades. One such individual was Audrey White from Liverpool, who dared to confront Keir in person about his policies. Throughout the whole interaction, Starmer looks beyond uncomfortable, like a schoolboy being told off by a teacher. It’s hilarious seeing him put in his place by a pensioner, and it didn’t help when he had her escorted away, making him look threatened by a little old lady. White’s other claim to fame is decades of inspiring activism, like a campaign against sexual harassment in the workplace, which led to a law change in 2005. White was expelled from the party after this incident, but at this point, we doubt she minds.

#8: Farmer’s Protests

Starmer’s Labour Party came into power in July 2024, and their subsequent October budget led to widespread protests from farmers. Given their party’s name, you would expect them to side with labourers. Instead, they decided to introduce an inheritance tax on farmers, which was contentious as most farmers are pretty cash-poor. People criticised it for pushing many independent farmers out of the business, instead allowing larger corporations to dominate the industry. It was criticised by figures such as Jeremy Clarkson, who became one of the law’s most vocal opponents. Supporters of it instead argued that the law prevents farmers from dodging taxes, but like most political issues, there’s no agreed-upon consensus, except the fact that Labour did a terrible job implementing it.

#7: Cash For Influence

In 2009 and 2010, Labour was the subject of not one, but two cash for influence scandals. In January 2009, The Sunday Times alleged that four Lords were taking donations in exchange for amending legislation. An investigation found both Lord Truscott and Lord Taylor were guilty of this, and they were both suspended, something that hadn’t happened since Oliver Cromwell’s era. The year after, a similar scandal broke out, with Lords and MPs being accused of offering to work for a fake firm in exchange for thousands of pounds. This led to four Labour politicians being suspended, with three getting permanent bans from parliament.

#6: Officegate

Another controversy over expenses arose in 2001, except this time it was in the Scottish Parliament. Henry McLeish became the First Minister of Scotland in 2000, but left after just over a year in office. It was the first scandal in the history of the Scottish Parliament. It started in 1987, when McLeish was an MP, and he sublet offices without declaring it to the House of Commons. When this was revealed in 2001, he went on “Question Time” to try to save face, but the appearance was catastrophic. McLeish defended himself by claiming it was an “honest mistake,” and stating that he simply forgot to declare these expenses.

#5: Angela Rayner Tax Scandal

For just over a year, Angela Rayner was Keir Starmer’s Deputy PM. Her career took a massive hit in August 2025, when it was revealed she hadn’t paid £40,000 in tax. Specifically, she had bought a flat but didn’t pay enough stamp duty. It turned into a bit of a mess, resulting in Rayner’s resignation in September 2025. This was followed by a massive reshuffling of Starmer’s cabinet, as he was worried about his leadership being challenged. It was a controversial shuffle, with some observers criticising the way women PMs were handled.

#4: Gorton and Denton by-Election

In Greater Manchester, the constituency of Gorton and Denton had a by-election after Labour MP Andrew Gwynne resigned. Throughout the whole campaign, Labour was insistent that it was the only party that could beat Reform. In the end, that turned out to be a complete lie, as Green candidate Hannah Spencer won by a significant margin. A lot of people blamed the result on how Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, wasn’t allowed to run as Labour’s candidate. Others said it was simply because Spencer had the best campaign, as she managed to connect with the constituency’s locals.

#3: Cash-For-Honours Scandal

It’s been the law for years that any and all political donations must be public, no matter how big or small. Well, in the 2000s, Labour politicians discovered a loophole. If the money is loaned, not donated, then you don’t have to declare it, allowing politicians to accept bribes in secret. It first became public in March 2006, when MP Angus McNeil pointed out how four men, who Tony Blair nominated for peerages, had donated roughly £5 million to Labour. No one was convicted, but all four peerages were blocked, and the loans had to be paid back.

#2: Peter Mandelson

One of the most powerful men in Labour’s history was easily Peter Mandelson. He was a major player in the cabinets of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and recently, Keir Starmer. That was until it turned out he’d been friends with convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein during the 2000s. Well, people knew they’d been friends before, but private documents released in 2025 revealed how close the two were. During the 2008 financial crisis, Mandelson, at the time he was Gordon Brown’s business secretary, allegedly gave Epstein top-secret government information. Following the revelations, Mandelson resigned, and then in early 2026, he was arrested.

#1: The Iraq War

Potentially, the most infamous decision of Blair’s political career was the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The figureheads of the invasion were both Blair and then-U.S. President George Bush. Their motivation was to prevent Iraq from developing WMDs, as they believed the nation was hiding them from the United Nations. It turned out they had none at all; the intelligence on which the invasion was based was false. Many experts have argued that this made the war itself illegal and that it violated United Nations policies. Even Blair’s deputy Prime Minister Jon Prescott thought it was illegal.

Can you think of any more Labour disasters we didn’t mention today, or do you think we covered them all? Let us know in the comments below!