The Sue Gray ‘s*** list’ and the 6 nightmares looming for Labour and Sir Keir Starmer

Labour has been elected to a stonking landslide majority – but now the hard work of government begins and the crises facing Sir Keir Starmer are stark.

The new Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, has reportedly compiled a “s*** list” of problems the party could face in Downing Street.

The dossier, not denied by Labour, includes several financial nightmares coming down the track, including pay negotiations and funding shortfalls that will be difficult to fix.

Sir Keir has often talked about his background as director of public prosecutions, and where to put the country’s criminals could be one of the six things causing him a major headache.

The potential collapse of Thames Water

Thames Water is battling for its survival amid a grave funding crisis as it struggles with £15billion of debt.

Its investors have refused to inject the cash needed to plug the funding gap, with Thames Water planning to hike customer bills by 40 percent to fund an £18.7billion investment programme.

It was reported that the Tory government was working on plans to effectively nationalise the water giant, so Sir Keir might have to decide whether to continue with those plans or not.

Public sector pay negotiations

Labour often faces criticism of being in hock to union barons, so negotiations on public sector pay will likely be a difficult issue for the party.

The trickiest standoff will be with junior doctors, who have been holding a series of strikes for months.

Sir Keir has already rejected their demand for a 35 percent pay rise, but during the General Election campaign he was blasted by Rishi Sunak for failing to come up with a viable solution.

All the new Prime Minister has promised so far is that he will “get round the table” with the strikers.

Overcrowding in prisons

Britain’s jails are bursting at the seams, with officers previously being told to make fewer arrests to avoid prison overcrowding.

The previous government was slammed for plans to release offenders up to 70 days early, with Express columnist and Reform campaigner Ann Widdecombe branding it an “incentive to crime”.

However, Sir Keir has indicated that he might have no option but to do something similar to alleviate the current problems, at least in the short term.

Longer term, Labour has committed to “driving through a prisons building programme” and creating more places for inmates.

Universities going under

Higher education is in financial trouble, with universities saying they are operating at a loss – particularly with fewer foreign students than in previous years.

Labour caused controversy when it introduced tuition fees in 2004, which were raised to £9,000 a year under the coalition government.

Sir Keir and his team will again face tough choices to ensure universities have enough money for groundbreaking research – decisions that could be unpopular with students.

NHS funding shortfall

Soaring NHS waiting lists were a big issue during the General Election campaign, with the health service said to be on its knees.

The backlog went up in June, with 6.33million patients waiting for 7.47million planned medical procedures.

Mr Sunak had made reducing the waiting list one of his five promises in government, but said he regretted not making more progress on the key target.

Labour has unveiled a plan to get the backlog down, with 40,000 more evening and weekend appointments each week.

Wes Streeting, who is expected to become health secretary, said that would be paid for “by clamping down on tax dodgers and nom-dom loopholes”.

Bankrupt local councils

Councils in England face a funding gap of £6.2billion over the next two years, the Local Government Association has warned.

The crisis is being driven by rising cost and demand pressures to provide adult social care, children's services, homelessness support and home-to-school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities.