A new poll shows that 54% of potential UK voters want Keir Starmer to resign. This is a higher percentage than those who voted for the UK to leave the European Union in 2016:

Unpopularity contest – with Starmer winning it

Opinium note the situation has significantly deteriorated for Labour since they took power. At the same time, Reform’s fortunes have grown:

Reform is currently on 31% (+1 on a fortnight ago) of the vote, followed by Labour 22% (-1), the Conservatives 17% (-1), and the Liberal Democrats 12% (n/c). When looking at voting intention among those who voted Labour in the General Election in 2024, only 67% would pick Labour again, whilst 12% would now choose Reform, 6% Liberal Democrats, 6% the Green Party, and 2% would vote for the Conservatives.

While the majority of 2024 Labour voters want Starmer to stay in position, a sizeable percentage would prefer he resign:

Opinium added:

Keir Starmer’s approval rating has suffered a further slump, dropping 2 points in the last fortnight to net -42%. This is joint with Rishi Sunak’s lowest score post-“D-Daygate” (net -42%) and almost near Boris Johnson’s net -44% after his government collapsed.

Perhaps more damningly, 2024 Labour voters only just give him a net positive rating, with 39% disapproving of the job he is doing while 41% approve.

Overall, just under a quarter (23%) still think Starmer would make the best Prime Minister – giving him a 9-point lead over Kemi Badenoch (13%). However, a majority (52%) now say neither leader would make the best Prime Minister.

In a 17 September Canary article, we looked at YouGov polling on approval, and found that:

the Starmer government’s approval is:

  • Better than the crisis points before Theresa May and Liz Truss resigned.
  • Equal to Rishi Sunak’s at the point when he lost the general election.
  • Significantly worse than the lowest moments for David Cameron and Boris Johnson.

Graph showing government approval over time since 2011

Challengers

Reporting on the potential longevity of Starmer’s premiership, Opinium reported:

Just over half (54%) of UK adults now think Starmer should resign, including a third (34%) of 2024 Labour voters. By way of comparison, this is higher than the 45% who called for Sunak to resign in April 2024.

When asked about who would be the best replacement, Andy Burnham is the top pick (13%), followed by Wes Streeting (5%). Burnham has the highest net acceptability (+12 acceptable), with Streeting in second place (-4 acceptable).

As reported by the Canary, Burnham is said to be considering a run at the leadership:

Trade doesn’t mean diddly when it comes to Starmer

Opinium’s polling was conducted in the same period that Labour announced its new trade deal with the US. Labour argued this deal showed them delivering on their promises, but critics accused them of allowing US ‘vulture capitalists’ to asset strip the UK, as we reported in the following article:

Labour MP Clive Lewis accused Starmer of selling out British “values”:

Featured image via Number 10 (Flickr)