Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set for a tricky return to parliament.

Keir Starmer does not have his troubles to seek as MPs return to parliament on Monday after their summer break.

The prime minister faces a series of challenges on a number of different fronts this autumn as he tries to arrest the dramatic slide in the government’s – and his own – popularity.

A YouGov poll earlier this week put Labour on just 20%, their lowest point since 2019, while Starmer’s own approval ratings are at minus 41.

And while the PM’s supporters point out that the next election is not due until 2029, there are growing rumblings among Labour MPs that he may not survive in No.10 long enough to lead the party into it.

Here, HuffPost UK looks at the five main challenges facing Starmer as he gears up for what could be a defining few weeks for his premiership.

1) Immigration

The soaring number of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats, and protests outside the hotels housing them, has been the story of the summer, and the government has been on the back foot throughout.

While Nigel Farage has been making fanciful pledges about deporting 600,000 illegal immigrants and renegotiating the Good Friday Agreement, Labour have barely been on the pitch.

One of the main problems Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, has is that voters simply don’t believe his get-tough posts on X pledging to detain and arrest every immigrant who enters the UK illegally.

Piecemeal changes like removing judges from the asylum appeals process in order to remove immigrants from the country more quickly may well bear fruit in time, but are not enough to satisfy voters who want results now.

Labour MPs, especially those in the Red Wall, know that their seats are on the line at the next election unless the government gets to grips with the issue, and soon.

Protesters wave a Union Flag during a demonstration in Orpington near London, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

2) Reshuffle

Starmer is expected to

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