Alarm call for Keir Starmer as stark poll shows voters don't understand his plan

Daily Mirror

10 hours ago

The pundits and politicos have had their say on Keir Starmer's first year. But there's only one verdict that matters: Yours
Keir Starmer faces an alarm call to get Labour's government on track - as a stark new poll shows voters don't understand his plan to fix Britain.
Alarming new polling by Electoral Calculus and Find Out Now for the Sunday Mirror found almost half (46%) of those polled feel worse off than they did when Labour came to power last July.
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Just 8% said they thought Britain was on the "right track" with 55% saying it was on the "wrong track".
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Nearly half (48%) of voters thought Keir Starmer doesn't have clear values and priorities - with 63% saying they don't think the Prime Minister shares their values.
Nearly half the population think Labour is focusing on the wrong things, with only one voter in sixteen saying their focus is mostly right.
Even among Labour supporters, the most common response is that things have been "a bit mixed", with more thinking it has gone wrong than right.
The poll comes at the end of a torrid week for Labour in the Commons.
On Tuesday, an angry revolt from backbenchers forced the government to drop huge parts of its welfare reforms which would have slashed billions from the benefits bill.
And the following day Chancellor Rachel Reeves appeared tearful in the Commons - causing a dip in the markets as many assumed it was an indication her job as in jeopardy.
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Ms Reeves later said she had been upset by a personal matter, and No10 insisted she was going nowhere.
Martin Baxter, CEO of Electoral Calculus, said: "The poll shows the problems that Keir Starmer has had in his first year. People think his values are unclear or wrong, and that he focuses on the wrong issues. To keep power he will have to convince people that the economy and NHS are improving. Many of his supporters want a "proper" Labour government with higher spending, but he doesn't have that much cash to splash around."
"Reform are widely seen as the main threat to Labour. That could help Starmer if he can convince centre-left voters that only Labour can beat Reform and also if he can persuade Reform supporters that he can govern better than Nigel Farage. Starmer needs to show his vision and deliver on it, otherwise the public will lose patience."
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Find Out Now polled 2,665 GB adults online between 3-4 July 2025. The sample was weighted to be representative by gender, age, social grade, other demographics and past voting patterns.
Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus are both members of the British Polling Council and abide by its rules.
Family finances
Q1. "Are you and your family better or worse o than a year ago, or about the same?" Response
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More people (46pc) are feeling worse off than better off (12pc) in the last twelve months. This applies to Labour supporters as much as the general public. Since the economy is a top issue for the public, Labour must hope that perceptions of the economy improve before the next election.
Britain off track
Q2. "Is Britain under Keir Starmer's leadership on the right or wrong track?"
A majority (55pc) of voters think Britain is on the wrong track under Keir Starmer. Even Labour supporters are split on the issue, with 30pc saying 'wrong track' compared with 25pc saying 'right track'. Predictably, Conservative and Reform supporters are particularly sceptical.
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Unclear Keir
Q3. "Is it clear what Keir Starmer stands for and what his priorities are?"
Nearly half of all voters (48pc) think that Keir Starmer does not have clear values and priorities. Over a quarter of Labour supporters (29pc) agree that his values are unclear, which is slightly larger than the number who think his values are clear (23pc).
Values
Q4. "How much do you think Keir Starmer shares your values?"
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A clear majority (63pc) of the public think that Keir Starmer doesn't share their values. Even among Labour supporters, there are nearly twice as many who don't think he shares their values (36pc) as do (20pc). Conservative and Reform supporters are unsurprisingly sceptical.
U-Turns
Q5. "Thinking about government U-turns, which of the following two statements do you most agree with?"
The public don't have a very clear opinion on this, though about twice as many people agree that the government lacks the courage of its convictions than think it shows the government is listening. Labour supporters are more supportive, which is positive for the government.
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Out of Focus
Q6. "Do you feel that Labour is focusing on the right or wrong things?"
Nearly half the population think Labour is focusing on the wrong things, with only one voter in sixteen saying their focus is mostly right. Even among Labour supporters, the most common response is that things have been "a bit mixed", with more thinking it has gone wrong than right.
Reform threat
Q7. "Who do you think is the bigger threat to Keir Starmer at the next election?"
The public are united in seeing Nigel Farage and Reform as a bigger threat to Keir Starmer than the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch. A chunky 60pc of people said Reform, and only 6pc said the Conservatives. The remainder didn't know. Even among Conservative supporters, only 12pc thought their own party was the main challenger. This will be disappointing news to the Conservative leadership.