Voters believe Sir Keir Starmer is the worst prime minister in modern history after just five months in office, a damning Mail poll has found.
A whopping six in 10 (61%) said they were “dissatisfied” with the Prime Minister’s performance, including more than a third (39%) of Labor supporters.
Just one in four voters (27%) said they were “satisfied” with Sir Keir’s performance since Labor took power in July.
And barely half (54%) of Labor’s own voters said they were satisfied.
The Ipsos poll, which has tracked the popularity of new prime ministers since Margaret Thatcher was in office, gives Sir Keir a ‘net satisfaction’ rating of -34.
Five months later, the second least popular Prime Minister was Gordon Brown in 2007 (-23) and Rishi Sunak in 2023 (-22). The most popular was Sir Tony Blair in 1997 (+57), followed by Sir John Major (+) 33) in 1991.
Opinion polls also found that confidence in the economy under Lord Keir’s government was the second worst. Only 15% believe it will improve next year.
In contrast, almost two-thirds (65%) think the situation will get worse. As a result, Sir Keir’s “pure optimism” rating for the economy became -49.
Voters believe Sir Keir Starmer is the worst prime minister in modern history after five months in office, a damning Mail poll has revealed.
Rishi Sunak (pictured giving a speech calling for a general election in July) came in an unpopular third place.
The only prime minister to score worse was Mrs Thatcher in 1979 (minus 52). But she inherited an inflation rate that had already soared by more than 15% from her Labor predecessors James Callaghan and Harold Wilson, and ultimately brought it down to less than 5%. By the mid-80s, St.
By contrast, Sir Keir inherited a growing economy with inflation of just around 2%.
The Ipsos survey also found that seven in 10 people (70 per cent) are “dissatisfied” with the way the government as a whole is running the country.
The findings are a major blow to Sir Keir, whose premiership has been rocked multiple times by scandals and backlash over his policies.
Rumors are even swirling in Westminster that he could be overthrown as leader if his dismal poll numbers do not improve and his party performs poorly in local elections in May.
Among the scandals that caused the biggest backlash was a dispute over prizes after it was revealed that he accepted £35,000 worth of clothes and glasses for himself and his wife from party stalwart Lord Ali. Ta.
The Labor Party member also allowed Sir Keir and his family to stay in his £18 million penthouse in central London during the campaign. This was a donation worth £20,000. Shortly after the election, it emerged that Sir Ali had been given a rare Downing Street pass which allowed him to come to Downing Street. He did whatever he wanted, leading to accusations of “cash for passes.”
The second most unpopular prime minister in five months was Gordon Brown (-23) in 2007.
In October, Sir Keir was forced to effectively sack his chief of staff, Sue Gray, amid a dispute within Number 10 over who was responsible for Labour’s poor start.
There was also a fierce backlash against the early release of thousands of prisoners, hikes in university tuition fees, deprivation of winter fuel allowances from 10 million pensioners and leaving inflation-busting wage increases in the hands of rail union bosses. is also happening.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget in October was poorly received, containing a £35bn tax bomb, including a controversial ‘family farm’ levy and a rise in national insurance for businesses. .
Almost two weeks ago, Sir Keir sought to reset his stalled premiership by setting out a “transformation plan” with new targets for education and the NHS.
However, it was widely criticized for saying nothing about the immigration or small boat crisis, or how the government plans to take the rapidly growing number of people off welfare and into work.
It was also overshadowed last week by figures showing the economy contracted by 0.1% in October for the second month in a row.
Economic growth in the first two quarters of 2024, when the Conservatives were in power, was 0.7% and 0.5% respectively.
The only prime minister to score worse than Keir was Margaret Thatcher in 1979 (-52).
The Ipsos poll also suggests new Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch needs more time to make an impact, with 47% of voters saying they are satisfied with her performance. answered “I don’t know.”
A total of 19% answered “satisfied” and 34% answered “dissatisfied.”
However, 43% of Conservative voters were “satisfied” and 14% were “dissatisfied.”
Ipsos surveyed 1,028 voters from November 27th to December 4th.
The poll results were released ahead of a speech today by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who described Labour’s tax bomb budget as “catastrophic”.
Of Sir Keir and Prime Minister Rachel Reeves, she added: “They argued that there was no need to raise taxes to increase spending on public services.”
And within weeks of taking office, they carried out the worst raid on a family business in living memory. ”
They promised to accelerate growth. In fact, growth is regressing.
“Keir Starmer’s decision will suck investment and growth out of the UK economy.”
And no one is safe. Businesses can be large or small. countryside and city.
