Sir Keir Starmer’s Government is seen as “weak, indecisive and lacking direction” because of constant U-turns, a polling expert has warned. There have been at least 15 major U-turns since Labour came to power, with the latest one announced on Thursday.

The Government has now reversed plans to delete a major archive of court records called Courtsdesk, which was used to track patterns of criminal behaviour, including grooming gangs. Nick Timothy, Shadow Justice Secretary, said: “It’s another screeching U-turn from this flailing Labour Government. If we are going to stop the rape gangs and expose other patterns of criminal behaviour, we need comprehensive and accurate data.

“But the sad truth is that the archive should never have been put at risk in the first place. David Lammy needs to get a grip of his department and put the public first.”

And the Prime Minister is reported to be considering yet another new U-turn, this time over the minimum wage for young people.

Labour has been increasing the minimum wage for those under 21, but could now scrap or delay this policy due to a massive increase in unemployment among younger people.

Luke Tryl, executive director at think tank More in Common UK, said: “The public generally don’t mind individual U-turns.

“The problem, however, for this Government is that the sheer volume of U-turns, combined with the fact that people weren’t clear from the start about Keir Starmer’s vision and what he stands for, have made people think this Government is weak, indecisive and lacking direction.”

Speaking to The Times, Mr Tryl said the best hope for politicians forced to change policy was to admit that they had changed their minds after considering the evidence.

According to Office for National Statistics figures, the unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds surged to 16.1% in the three months to December – the highest level since early 2015.

It means the UK’s youth unemployment rate is now above the EU average for the first time since records began in 2000.

At the moment, the legal minimum wage for people under 21 is lower than the minimum wage – known as the living wage – for those aged 21 and over. But Labour has committed itself to ending this difference and has made a start by increasing the minimum wage for workers aged 16 to 20 by 16.3% in 2024.

The hourly rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will rise again by 85p to £10.85 in April this year.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens this week denied any U-turn on the minimum wage was planned. However, previous U-turns have also been denied until they happened.

Labour’s U-turns have included:

• Announcing a national inquiry into grooming gangs after previously refusing
• Sir Keir claiming that “trans women are women” and then saying “a woman is a female adult” – a definition that appears to exclude trans women
• Scrapping the two-child benefit cap, which Labour previously supported
• Refusing to give compensation to women affected by state pension age increases, even though Sir Keir previously supported their campaign
• Reversing plans to limit winter fuel payments. Some changes were introduced, but far less radical than the original plan
• Reversing plans to limit benefit cuts for people with medical conditions and disabilities. A commission is now looking at the issue instead
• Increasing National Insurance for businesses, despite Labour’s manifesto pledging: “Labour will not increase taxes on working people, which is why we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of income tax, or VAT”
• Extending the freeze on income tax thresholds – effectively increasing income tax for employees – despite previously saying it would “hurt working people”
• Scrapping plans to give workers full legal rights from day one in a new job
• A partial U-turn over inheritance tax on family farms
• Promising support for pubs to offset a huge increase in business rates
• Scrapping plans to make digital ID cards compulsory to prove the right to work in the UK
• Agreeing to release documents relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador
• Abandoning plans to delay some local council elections

Sir Keir is now under pressure over plans to hand sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after US president Donald Trump said the agreement was a “big mistake” due to the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.

Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones insisted there would not be another U-turn, saying: “This deal is essential and crucial for the national security of the United Kingdom and that is the first priority of any government.”