LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is spoiling for political fights as part of a new media plan aides unveiled this week.

In the past 24 hours, the British leader launched a legal battle against former Chelsea Football club owner Roman Abramovich, took aim at soccer body FIFA over consumer ticket prices — and used the power of his Labour government to take a free kick against right-wing opponents Reform.

Labour MPs have long wanted the British PM — languishing in the polls and known for a technocratic, strait-laced style — to take a more combative approach, after watching U.S. President Donald Trump drive the American news agenda through incessant battles with opponents that show him fighting for voters, as well as his own survival. 

“The government needs to pick the right opponents and the right fights where we know we can win,” said Labour MP Graeme Downie. “That allows progress to be made but also shows the public the values we hold, the issues that matter the most to us and the priorities we have to improve the country.”

Wading into political fights is one of the prongs to the new media approach No.10 communications boss and former tabloid editor David Dinsmore set out during a Starmer Cabinet meeting this week.

Three people with knowledge of the strategy, not authorized to speak publicly, said it’s about using battles to craft stories and show voters who the government is fighting for. The plan also includes better use of video on a wider range of social media channels, and showing how government policies are directly impacting the public. It sits alongside a drive to get influencers outside the Westminster bubble plugged into the government comms plan.

In his most high-stakes fight so far, Starmer used his setpiece House of Commons platform on Wednesday to reveal the government has issued a license to transfer a £2.5 billion pot from the 2022 sale of Chelsea Football Club to a humanitarian organization for Ukraine. The cash has been frozen and held in a U.K. bank account since the sale, although in legal terms it still belongs to Abramovich, a Russian oligarch. Ministers have been sitting on the dispute for three years, despite MPs pushing the government to get on and seize the cash. Wednesday saw Starmer take the issue front and center — even if the legal fine-points leave plenty to be ironed out.

In another soccer-related row, Starmer went studs-up on FIFA over its high World Cup ticket prices.

The prime minister framed the fight in personal terms, saying “as someone who used to save up for England tickets, I encourage FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable so that the World Cup doesn’t lose touch with the genuine supporters who make the game so special.”

Asked Wednesday afternoon what prompted Starmer to make his unusual intervention on a private organization, his political spokesperson said “football is core to the U.K. and part of our social fabric.” It puts him in the same fight as New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (and fellow Arsenal fan) across the Atlantic. Mamdani has pledged to appoint a “World Cup czar” to push FIFA to lower prices ahead of the U.S.-hosted 2026 tournament.

Elsewhere this week, Starmer approved a government review into foreign interference in politics, after former Reform leader in Wales Nathan Gill was convicted of taking pro-Russia bribes.

Starmer and his ministers have been attacking Reform and its leader Nigel Farage over the conviction for weeks, but it’s the first time he has wielded the might of the state behind the attacks. Ministers insist the review is not about one party — but the minister who launched it in the House of Commons was not short of fiery rhetoric about Reform.

A second Labour MP backed taking a page out of the Trump playbook. “I think it’s a good idea,” the person said. “Fighting the bad guys.”

A government minister backed the plans too. But they cautioned Wednesday: “The problem with the Trump approach is unless you’re mad, it’s difficult to push it too far.”

This reporting first appeared in POLITICO London Playbook PM.