Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves are facing a wave of discontent from within their own ranks, according to a new survey that reveals how rattled Labour’s grassroots really are – and it’s not looking pretty. Despite leading the country for less than a year, the Prime Minister finds himself only the 17th most popular figure in his own cabinet, while Reeves has the dubious honour of being the least liked. A pretty brutal verdict from party members, who clearly aren’t holding back.
Worryingly for the leadership, 31% of those polled reckon Labour should swap out Starmer for someone else before the next election. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. And nearly half (48.9%) of Labour members say the party is heading in the wrong direction altogether, reported the Express.
Even more eyebrow-raising? More of them are fretting about Reform UK than the Conservatives. Nearly one in 10 Labour members actually believe Nigel Farage’s party could end up running the country next – with 1% predicting a large Reform majority, 3% a small one, and 5% seeing them forming a Government in a hung parliament.
Only 6% of those surveyed think Labour will romp to another big majority, while 24% expect a hung parliament with Labour on top, and 43% predict a narrow win. Not exactly the confidence boost you’d hope for when you’re in Government.
When asked which party is the biggest threat to the Tories, 71% pointed to Reform UK. Just 16% named the Conservatives themselves, and a paltry 3% said the Lib Dems – same as those who reckon the Greens are the biggest challenge.
On the popularity front, it’s Ed Miliband who comes out on top. Yes, really. The Energy Secretary scored a healthy +68.6 in favourability. Angela Rayner and Lisa Nandy also did well, but Starmer only just scraped into the positives with +13.83. As for Reeves? Her rating dropped into the red with -11.19.
In some parts of the country, Starmer’s approval is even worse – he’s in the negative in Scotland and the North West. Not ideal ahead of a general election. That said, 49.4% of members do credit him with improving the party overall, and a majority still think Labour’s been competent, decisive, and trustworthy. But 40.6% say the party’s doing a poor job in Government – and 1 in 8 members don’t even know who they’ll vote for next time.
Editor of LabourList, Tom Belger, summed it up bluntly: “It should raise alarm bells with the leadership that there’s so much unease even among the so-called ‘party faithful’, less than a year into office.”
