Exclusive: Half of voters say ‘Keir Starmer doing bad job as leader’

Nearly six out of 10 people say Sir Keir Starmer is doing a “bad job” in setting out a clear alternative to the Government, a poll revealed on Friday.

Half are also dissatisfied with how he is performing as Labour leader, according to the Ipsos MORI survey for the Standard.

However, Sir Keir appears to have won some breathing space from the threat of a possible leadership challenge after Labour won the Batley and Spen by-election by just 323 votes.

Some 34 per cent of adults say Labour should change leader before the next general election, compared with 50 per cent in June before the by-election, with 31 per cent disagreeing, up five percentage points from last month.

In a sign of divisions within Labour, 38 per cent of its supporters think Sir Keir, inset, should be replaced — though this is down from 48 per cent in June — with 39 per cent disagreeing, unchanged on last month.

By way of contrast, 42 per cent of adults believe the Tories should change leader before the next election, up two points on June, and 30 per cent disagree, down nine points.

Boris Johnson fares better among Conservative supporters, with just 19 per cent saying the party should replace its leader before the next election, with 64 per cent disagreeing.

Sir Keir has embarked on a tour of Britain as he seeks to address a “trust issue” for his party, vowing to “sweat blood over months and years to earn respect” from voters.

The poll showed 59 per cent of Britons think he has done a “bad job” at setting out a clear alternative to the Government to voters, with just 18 per cent saying a “good job”.

Fifty per cent of adults are dissatisfied with Sir Keir’s performance as Labour leader, down one point on last month, with 27 per cent satisfied, up five points.

The findings give a net satisfaction score of -23 compared with -29 in June. Keiran Pedley, director of politics for Ipsos MORI, said: “Labour’s narrow victory in Batley and Spen could prove a political lifeline for Keir Starmer in the short-term. However, his scores are still much lower than at the start of his leadership, and don’t stand out as very good historically.

“He has plenty of work to do to genuinely turn things around, rather than just stop the rot.”

Some 43 per cent say Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham would do a better job as Labour leader than Sir Keir, including half of Labour voters.

Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative sample of 1,053 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by phone: July 2 - July 8. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.