LONDON – There was no summer honeymoon for Keir Starmer.

Britain’s new prime minister, elected in a landslide less than two months ago, had to cancel a planned vacation after anti-immigrant unrest erupted across the country. He has spent his first weeks in office dealing with the aftermath, and issuing stark warnings about the state of the nation and the economy.

As lawmakers returned to Parliament on Monday after a shortened summer break, Starmer’s left-of-center Labour Party government was preparing for a budget statement next month that’s likely to include tax rises or public spending cuts — or both.

The mood music is in stark contrast to the campaign song used by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the last Labour leader to win an election: “Things Can Only Get Better.”