Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves face a crisis of support among Labour members according to new research which lays bare the scale of unhappiness with the Government. The Prime Minister is only the 17th most popular member of the cabinet and Ms Reeves is the least favourite. Thirty-one percent of respondents said Labour should have a change of leader before the next election.
Half of Labour members (48.9%) say the party is going in the wrong direction and there is much more worry about the challenge from Reform UK than from the Conservatives. Nearly one in 10 (9%) expects Reform to lead the next Government.
The Survation survey of more than 2,000 LabourList readers who said they were party members found just 6% expect Labour will win another large majority at the next election – with 24% anticipating Labour being the largest party in a hung parliament and 43% expecting the party will win a small majority.
When asked which party poses the greatest threat to the Conservatives, 71% named Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Just 16% named Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives; a mere 3% thought the Liberal Democrats were the greatest danger, with the same share of members naming the Greens.
While 1% expect Reform to win the next election with a large majority, 3% think it will win a small majority and 5% see it forming the Government in a hung parliament.
The polling found Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is the most popular member of the cabinet with a favourability rating of +68.6. He is followed by Deputy PM Angela Rayner (+62.95) and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy (+38.87).
Energy Secretary is the most popular member of the shadow cabinet according to the research (Image: Getty)
In contrast, Sir Keir’s rating is just +13.83 and the Chancellor is in negative territory. Ms Reeves has a rating of -11.19, and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall – who this week announced controversial welfare changes – had a rating of -7.49.
The Prime Minister had a negative approval rating in Scotland (-14) and the North West (-3.62).
Nearly half of respondents (49.4%) gave Sir Keir credit for changing Labour for the better but 40.6% thought the party is governing badly – and one in eight is unsure how they would vote at the next election.
He can take comfort in strong percentages of members saying the party has been competent (65.8%), decisive (60.6%), trustworthy (56.1%) and strong (53.8%).
Nearly half of those surveyed (48.4%) named health as one of the most important issues facing the country is facing – more than the economy (46.2%), the cost of living (42.1%), defence and security (38.7%), housing (36.9%) and the environment (29.5%).
Tom Belger, editor of LabourList, said: “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. The grassroots mood matters if Labour wants a strong ground operation in upcoming elections.”
