Post-election drop in poll for Starmer as 52% say UK ‘moving in wrong direction’
More than half of people think the UK is “moving in the wrong direction”, according to a poll which shows a drop in favourability for Sir Keir Starmer and his Cabinet.
The poll by Ipsos, conducted between August 9-12, showed a post-General Election drop in the perception of the Prime Minister, as well as his deputy Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Of those polled, 22% said that they think things in Britain are heading in the right direction, 52% in the wrong direction and 19% neither.
Sir Keir remains the most popular politician asked about, with 38% having a favourable opinion towards the Prime Minister and 38% unfavourable.
This is despite a drop in his net rating to 0 from a rating of plus seven immediately after the election, but compares to a net rating of minus 10 for Rishi Sunak in his second month as prime minister.
Deputy Prime Minister Ms Rayner also faced a dip in ratings. Some 33% said they were favourable towards Ms Rayner and 36% unfavourable.
There has been a slight increase in the numbers of those who hold unfavourable opinions towards Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Chancellor Ms Reeves.
Some 28% said they are favourable towards Ms Cooper and 33% unfavourable, with 27% favourable towards Ms Reeves and 35% unfavourable.
Ratings for Mr Sunak and the Conservative Party remain steady post-election. Some 20% said they were favourable towards Mr Sunak and 58% unfavourable.
Honeymoon period
Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK politics at Ipsos, said Labour and Sir Keir are “still enjoying a moderate honeymoon period”.
He said: “The public feel somewhat more positively towards them than they did before the election was called, they are more popular than their main opponents, and their ratings are above the equivalent figures for Boris Johnson and the Conservatives two months after their 2019 victory, and above the two months after Rishi Sunak became PM.
“But Labour’s ratings are not impregnable (for example, Boris Johnson benefited from a bigger halo effect at the start of the Covid pandemic).
“There are signs of a small increase in public criticism of Labour, the Prime Minister and other key Cabinet ministers this month, but just as important for their longer-term prospects is the level of pessimism around the state of the country.
“This is not as bad as it was under the Conservatives, but half of Britons still think things are going in the wrong direction, and delivering on the public’s desire for improvements will be key when the honeymoon period ends.”
Hits to perception were seen on the opposition benches for the Liberal Democrats and party leader Sir Ed Davey.
Some 22% said they were favourable towards Sir Ed, down from 29% in the week following the election, while 31% said they were unfavourable towards him compared with 26% in July.
Likewise, 24% said they were favourable towards the Liberal Democrats and 34% unfavourable.
Reform
Ratings for Nigel Farage remain broadly in line with those taken in July, while Reform UK sees a marginal slip. Some 54% reported being unfavourable to Mr Farage, similarly 54% are unfavourable to Reform.
Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,148 adults aged 18 and over across Britain between August 9–12.
Data is weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
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In the words of Bachman Turner Overdrive, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Consequences start today, magistrates hearings on hold, early release for some, be tough on crime but realise it has knock on effects in justice system, energy prices to rise by 9% is forecast for first half of winter, what will be the consequences for those who going to be just above the WFA threshold.
This is just the start.
Today is one Truss I think?
Markets have not bricked it, some strikes resolved, Tory party shown the door, rioters shown the errors of their ways and riots nipped in the bud, no blue in Wales…… that was worth it at least.
Lets see what happens over the next term. Too soon to say yet, lets see what the budget has on offer. Aftre taking over a ruined country, I don’t expect miracles.
Well, whatever happens Jeff, I hope you’re ready to own it.
Own it? Whatevers. Adrian, I don’t know what will happen. I know what was happening with Tory in charge, I have never seen the UK so bad. And with the risk of Trump getting power, the Tory party was the last bunch of duffers we needed in power in the UK. Fingers crossed for Harris. If after 5 years it is not good then I vote Plaid. The Tory party is toxic still, even in defeat it is a simmering cess pool of vile and hate, it should have been wiped out at the election but there we are, not… Read more »
“If after 5 years it is not good then I vote Plaid.”
Pull the other one.
If in five years things are good then it will be – Labour good vote Labour
if in five years things are not good it will be – Tories bad vote Labour
I don’t disagree about the Tories but I firmly believe this lot will be even worse and the evidence is already there. Remember, when theTories came to power in 2010, Labour had also left the country in a dire state.
Still believe that do you? The letter was a joke btw but the usual suspects cling on to that as if its all they have left. NHS was far better shape. I don’t know what this lot will do. We shall see. You may be right but it will be through a guess not ability. So, what do we have. Tory party forcing OAP to pay licence fees, cutting police, wrecking NHS, Brexit, Patterson (mogg and co fought to change the rules to keep him), Pincher, Boris let the bodies pile high, Boris Delta variant , Boris there were no… Read more »
Labour’s answer is to give everyone 20% pay rises year on year!
Great but by 2030 a pint of milk will cost £10
Read somewhere that with the amount of data available to HMRC and DWP the winter fuel blunder could have been avoided by using individual earnings data to yield a better targetted policy. HMRC data would disclose how many people over State retirement age were earning in excess of a given threshold be it 40k, 50k, 60k or whatever. That would enable a more balanced policy to be applied.
Or are they already into managing by symbolic misery where the misery is enjoyed by anyone but themselves ?
What does the 52% who think things are moving in the wrong direction really mean.
What % think things are going too much towards the right.
What % think things are going too much towards the left.
I haven’t looked at the actual poll results but given the two possible “wrong” directions 48% looks like the most popular view.
Labour fears the Islamic vote and now openly panders to far Left anti-zionist extremists. But there is a price to pay – Labour has lost the caucasian working class vote forever.
Abandoned a long time ago, sometime in the Blair era. Islamic vote is only one bit of their new “picture” a composite of all sorts of issues that have sprung up driven by assorted influences and sectoral demands. The Islamic vote is the one that is most vulnerable to disappearing as one or more specific Islamic linked parties/movements consolidate especially in the larger metropolitan areas.