The credibility of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the United Kingdom‘s fiscal situation were further undermined this week when Starmer abandoned reforms to the country’s bloated welfare system. The minimal reforms, spearheaded by Chancellor Rachel Reeves (the U.K.’s more powerful equivalent of the treasury secretary), were designed to reduce the deficit by $7 billion a year by 2030. The reforms centered on strengthened eligibility safeguards for those receiving generous incapacity benefits. The U.K. needs spending savings because its 2024-2025 budget deficit is predicted to come in at $187 billion.

Unfortunately, to borrow from British slang, Starmer bottled it.