The British Labor Party came together after a rocky start in government and a scandal over clothes

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LONDON (AP) – It should be a celebration for Britain’s Labor Party, which opens its annual conference Sunday less than three months after winning power in a landslide after 14 years in opposition.

But there was no victory lap for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

His government is facing the reckoning of a deteriorating economy and an electorate impatient for change. The mood among Labor members gathered in the north-west English city of Liverpool grew increasingly stormy as Starmer received a freebie at a time when millions were struggling with the cost of living.

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Starmer insisted he followed the rules when he took designer clothes and glasses from Waheed Alli, a media entrepreneur and long-time Labor donor. But after days of negative headlines, the party has now said Starmer will no longer receive free outfits.

“I know people are angry,” said Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who also accepted donations to pay for clothing.

“But donations of gifts and hospitality and monetary donations have been a feature of our politics for a long time,” he told the BBC. “People can see and see what people see, and transparency is very important.”

Starmer won the July 4 election on a promise to “restore politics as a force for good” after years of scandal in the Conservatives. He promised to improve the country’s sluggish economy and restore damaged public services such as the state-funded National Health Service.

Since then, it has struck a gloomy note, saying there is a 22 billion pound ($ 29 billion) “black hole” in public finances left by the Conservative government, and warning that “things will get worse” before they get better. One of the main actions of the government is to deprive millions of pensioners of payments intended to help them get married during the winter.

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Starmer also had to deal with anti-immigrant riots that erupted after three children were stabbed to death in Southport, near Liverpool in July. Starmer responded strongly, promising swift and tough punishment for the rioters. But prison overcrowding, a legacy of the last government, meant hundreds of inmates had to be released early to make way for newly convicted rioters.

Then there was the fashion scandal, dubbed “frockgate” after the dress given to the prime minister’s wife, Victoria Starmer.

Keir Starmer is also facing backlash among his own staff over the pay of his chief of staff, Sue Gray. The BBC revealed that he was paid 170,000 pounds ($225,000) a year – about 3,000 pounds more than the prime minister’s salary. The government says it is not involved in setting the salary scale for political advisers.

Labor said the criticism was leveled by the Conservatives and their media supporters. But polls show it’s already hurting. An Ipsos poll released on Friday found 25% of respondents thought Starmer was doing a good job – down from 36% in July – while 42% thought he was doing a bad job, up from 14%. The company interviewed 1,082 adults over the phone and the margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.

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“They promised it would be different, but they haven’t,” Conservative MP Chris Philp told the BBC. “They are not running a service government, they are running a self-government.”

The diet of bad news has alarmed many Labor members, who are worried that the worst will come in the form of tax increases and spending cuts when the government announces the first budget on October 30.

Labor leaders will try to send a more positive message when Treasury chief Rachel Reeves makes a televised conference speech on Monday, followed by Starmer on Tuesday. He hopes to inject some cheer into the four-day conference, a mix of rallies, policy forums and boozy bashes that play a vital role in maintaining morale among party activists.

The government says it has made some positive changes, including ending a wave of public sector strikes. In the coming weeks, he plans legislation to take public ownership of railroads, set up a state green energy company, impose tougher rules on water companies that dump sewage and strengthen rights for workers and tenants.

Victoria Honeyman, a professor of English politics at the University of Leeds, said Labour’s first months in office would have been difficult because voters’ expectations were so high.

“But he made a mistake,” he said. “The clothing business, it’s not a terminal blow, but it’s the kind of thing that will stick in people’s minds for a while and can be easily avoided.

“It’s a lack of attention or a lack of care, nothing looks good.”

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