Four in 10 Labour supporters say they do not know what Sir Keir Starmer stands for, a poll reveals today, as he comes under growing pressure to lay out his vision for Britain.
The Ipsos survey for the Standard found that 43 per cent of adults who back Labour hold this view. Among the wider public the figure rises to 53 per cent, which compares to 38 per cent for ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband in April 2015 and 51 per cent in August 2013.
Many Labour MPs are growing increasingly impatient for Sir Keir to publish more about his key beliefs, values and policies to inject momentum into their party. In a bid to define the party’s position on Brexit, Sir Keir insisted on Monday that the UK would not rejoin the EU if he became Prime Minister.
But the stance has led to a backlash from some senior figures in his party — including London Mayor Sadiq Khan — who believe Labour should be campaigning to rejoin the single market.
Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry dismissed those calls yesterday, telling the BBC: “We wouldn’t be able to go back on the same terms and, frankly, is the British public really going to want to argue for the next two years about whether or not we should go back into the European Union, and on what terms, and then have another referendum? No they are not.”
Sir Keir’s future as leader of the party remains uncertain after he vowed to resign if he is fined for breaking Covid-19 rules when he drank beer and ate curry while campaigning in Durham last year.
Gideon Skinner of Ipsos said: “Neither party leader will be comfortable with their public opinion ratings at the moment. Sir Keir Starmer is struggling to get his vision across — even among Labour voters — while his ratings are only average for an Opposition leader, and behind successful ones like David Cameron and Tony Blair.”
Half of adults do not like Sir Keir, with 38 per cent taking the opposite view, his worst score.
