Voices Keir Starmer can afford to be polite to Liz Truss for one key reason - he knows he is winning. After three years of near-destitution brought on by COVID-19, falling membership numbers and reduced union funding the party is now beginning to look cashed-up. This represents a five-point jump for Labour when compared to polling carried out by the channel last week, and no movement at all for the Conservatives, who remain on 21% of the vote. March 2, 2023. in News. BMG Research interviewed a representative sample of 2,091 GB adults online between 16 and 18 August. Under the British systems two-horse race, he reckoned he needed to do no more than position himself as the least bad option. It is a dramatic capitulation for a party in opposition that grew out of the activities of the trade union movement. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye. None of this means Sunak is suddenly the effective and successful leader that the Tory party has lacked for so long. These signs of change should be watched seriously, because the Tory party has history as an election winner. Starmer has experience that Blair didn't. "Any opposition would be struggling against a government riding the success of the vaccine rollout and the last time the government's approval figures for the pandemic were this positive the Conservatives held a 17 point lead. Instead, unlike Liz Truss, he prioritised the things where he could begin to shift the dial and build some political capital. Like Toto the dog pulling back the wizard's curtain, the rancorous and increasingly risible leadership contest is exposing rifts within the SNP as never before; instead of revealing a kindly old . Sorting the protocol was in that category, a sensible bit of ground-clearing and confidence-building. This week, though, has provided a reminder of two important things that deserve to be noted by political observers. The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party until 4 April 2020. Sir Keir Starmer's decision to make Sue Gray his chief of staff proves he is a "man of the establishment" and will harm Labour's chances of winning the Red Wall, a former Conservative party chairman has claimed Sir Jake Berry said the appointment underlined that the Labour leader would run a . His website and blog can be found at www.jonathan-cook.net. Keir Starmer has been urged to intervene in the selection process for a Labour target "red wall" seat, after a leading candidate who had the support of eight trade unions was blocked from . 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More than six in ten (61%) of Rishi Sunaks voters support the measure, as do 57% of Labour voters, suggesting this policy will land well in the country as a whole. BOOST for Labour and Keir Starmer after the Autumn Statement - GB News poll reveals, Nationwide hikes up mortgage rates again just weeks after promoting cuts. Adam Drummond, Opinium's head of political polling, said: "Keir Starmer's ratings have taken a tumble as Labour voters begin to fear that he isn't the one to lead the party back to power. Having Tony introduce Keir at the next Labour conference? Explore the latest YouGov polling, survey results and articles about Keir Starmer. On policy delivery, the Government continues to struggle massively on the three key issues of the economy, the NHS, and immigration. But Starmers success - assuming it can be maintained - has come at an extraordinarily high political price. Sunak also gets to choose the election date. Sunak had to market a compromise not just to the DUP, but also to a Tory party in which too many had become intoxicated with their own dogmas which is exactly why Sunak lost to Truss last summer. The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK, formerly named Brexit Party, until 6 March 2021. A backlash is coming. Overall, more than half the country, 54%, say they do not know who to back on the economy or would rather not say. Nevertheless, this week highlighted some early if incomplete signs that Sunak is starting to change the Tory party. Latest UK Opinion Polls: Government approval recent changes. Date(s) Keir Starmer was rewarded for his "strategic patience", according to an ally, when . March 2, 2023 10:16 am CET. Around the middle of the year, however, the tide started to turn. If you do not have an account you can register here. The damage done by the polarisation, recklessness, venality and destructiveness of the May-Johnson-Truss years casts long shadows that will shape the politics of this decade. No Tory leader can simply declare the convulsions of the past seven years over, or announce that from now on, they will be competent and consensual. These are people that dont have to be spending their time and money doing this, a Labour shadow Cabinet minister said. The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Rishi Sunak, leader of the Conservative Party since 24 October 2022 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 25 October 2022. With such a worldview, he is beholden to the City, not ordinary people. , Bloomberg. Political Monitor. Sir Keir Starmer will deliver his conference speech today with the party in a commanding position in the polls (Picture: Metro/YouGov) Labour has hit an historic opinion poll high after a . Even some Tory rebels were baffled by Starmers performance, saying it had helped Johnson regain some stability after the confidence vote. Keir Starmer is the 1st most popular Labour politician and the 2nd most popular politician & political figure. He is also said to regularly chat with Starmer about the job of opposition leader and what to expect if he enters No. Overall, 57% of all voters support this, rising to 78% of Rishi Sunaks own voters. It also reveals that Starmers party holds a narrow two-point lead, compared with a three-point lead in the last poll a fortnight ago. Now that would shock people.. To top it all, Trusss government has vowed to let the energy sector continue raking in inflated profits rather than impose a crowd-pleasing windfall tax. It was a key insight to recognise that the DUP had overreached itself at the expense of the UKs wider economic and political interests, and was therefore in a weaker position than many assumed. Gray, who has decades of government experience, came into the national spotlight last year for her damning investigation into the partygate scandal, a series of law-breaking . As people increasingly see through Johnsons bluster and feel the impact of his lack of decisions, weve created space to show that Keir is the serious politician needed for post-pandemic Britain., To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter by clicking here. Hence some of the changes to the leaders office which he has made since then. 10. Starmer himself remained grimly determined, with only one outburst of temper or, at least, only one that was reported to the outside world, and that was after a delay of many months, suggesting that the inner team remained loyal throughout. He has banned Labours front bench from joining picket lines, an edict that has been defied by several of them and looked all the more risible as even barristers have begun taking industrial action. Leadership approval opinion polling for the next United Kingdom general election. Collapse. Polling for Ipsos MORI showed the Tories taking the lead in front of Labour again amid a vaccine bou R&WS Research Team. Changes of this kind are not like electoral on-off switches. Combined with his purges of the Labour left, including Corbyn, using antisemitism as the pretext, Starmer has hollowed out left-wing politics in the UK of any substance. And, in a further nod to the business-friendly "New Labour" days of the 1990s and 2000s, he's even tapping Tony Blair's moneymen to fund his bid for power. The more he engages with people from the City, the more he feels comfortable with the vocabulary and the issues, a department head at an investment bank said. Some 39% of people see the Labour leader as the more effective PM according to the poll, which was commissioned by the Evening Standard. Starmers hope was that the public would eventually tire of the glaring cronyism and corruption of a ruling party that has been 12 years in power. Even as Labour drew level in voting intention polls in November, Starmer limped behind Johnson in the preferred prime minister polling. Latest news, analysis and comment on migration in Europe and beyond. The non-Corbynite majority of Labour MPs didnt have an alternative candidate either; hence their mood of gloom and fatalism. The king played his symbolic role. Inflation, higher interest rates, energy price hikes and strikes ensured a grim winter. Survey shows the party was associated with support of politically correct issues. The survey by GB News, sees Labour on 47% of the national vote, the Conservative Party on 21%, the Liberal Democrats on 10%, the Greens on 7% and Reform on 6%. The leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer says that under the current rate, the average British family will be poorer than the average Polish family by 2030Parliament TV The Windsor Framework "gives enough" to end the Stormont stalemate, Sir Keir Starmer believes. The appetite for a more radical approach to the Tory government has been highlighted by the rapid rise of Mick Lynch, leader of the striking Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT). oes Rishi Sunak deserve some kind of apology? Not least, he has shredded the pledges he made during his campaign for the Labour leadership, policy commitments he sold Labour members as evidence he would serve as the continuity candidate for his left-wing predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn. Johnson was comprehensively outmanoeuvred. Enough is Enough unequivocally denounces a heartless establishment that, it implies, includes Starmer himself. After the loss of Hartlepool in a by-election in May and a clash with Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, over the reshuffle that followed, he and his party seemed to suffer a crisis of confidence. The Tories have remained persistently behind Labour throughout the summer and currently stand on 32 per cent of the vote with Labour on 42 per cent, according to BMG. politics . Indeed, Labours biggest backer, the union Unite, has reduced its contributions to the party in retaliation for Starmers efforts to shift away from the socialist policies of Corbyn. It includes a job ad for a celebrities and endorsement manager.. For Sunak personally, his approval rating, despite some fluctuations, ends February more or less where it was at the end of January. When Sir Keir Starmer turned Labour chief in 2020, few ever believed he would develop into prime minister. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Yet Keir Starmer's 'mission statement' last week managed something that nearly all speeches from those in his job - including most of his own - fail to achieve: broadly favourable and widespread coverage of his core message that Labour is a government . Only 29% of voters think Sir Keir looks like a prime minister in waiting, including 48% of people who voted Labour in 2019's general election. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015. The Opinium figures, which will raise further concerns within Labour over the party leader's performance, shows that the prime minister has a two-point lead over his opponent. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is trailing Boris Johnson as the British public's preferred prime minister by 17 percentage points, according to a new poll. Although they remain neck-and-neck on 38% each in the traditionally Conservative-voting Blue Wall, Starmer has opened up a lead of 7% in the Red Wall constituencies (three points lower than the 10-point margin he held at the end of January) and a 9% lead across the whole of Great Britain (three points more than at the end of January). Despite the prime ministers problems, from the fall of Kabul to the defence of Owen Paterson, the myth of his personal invincibility seemed to persist. Jeremy Corbyn approval rating . Theres no complacency but we remain confident of the strategy we have to get Keir to No 10., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. When asked who is best to manage the economy in the years ahead, 30% say a Labour government with Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. Starmer clearly believes very firmly in the corrupt FPTP system as . 2021 Associated Newspapers Limited. His Blue Wall rating, meanwhile, remains unchanged from January at -10%. Opinion comes closest regarding having a lot of . Starmer is said to have become increasingly comfortable in these settings over the past 12 months as his status as prime minister-in-waiting Labour is consistently polling 20 points ahead of the Tories is further entrenched. Only 17% say a Conservative government with Rishi Sunak as prime minister. Sunaks handling of the NI protocol suggests a leader and a Tory party with more left in the tank than some think. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt leaves 11 Downing Street, LondonJames Manning. . LONDON Keir Starmer wants big business to mold Labours election plans and get its fingerprints on his policy agenda. Hopes for that encounter had been high following the confidence vote held by Tory MPs over Johnsons leadership, a move that left the prime minister deeply wounded with 148 voting against him. Labour MPs and party officials say the fundraising operation is far more professionalized than at any other point during Labours last 13 years in the wilderness. 2. Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters. Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer at the Platinum Pageant for the Queen in London. Explore the live extension of our journalism, The wonk's survival guide to the EU Green Deal, Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize winner sentenced to 10 years in jail, Turkeys opposition splits over candidate to fight Erdoan, Germany to Switzerland: We want your tanks, Calculated evil: How Putins forces use war crimes and torture to erase Ukrainian identity, Let us film MPs as they vote, says outgoing Sky News chief, WhatsApp panic stalks Westminster after mass leak of private messages, Why always Matt? The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party and first minister of Scotland since November 2014. . Log in to access content and manage your profile. Keir Starmer was rewarded for his strategic patience, according to an ally, when just as the year ended, he took a clear lead over Boris Johnson as the leader people would prefer to have as prime minister. about 1 month ago . As popular anger mounts, Starmers lack of vision for a sustainable future risks plunging parliamentary politics into even deeper crisis. Sat 11 Jun 2022 14.57 EDT. Labours new HQ in Southwark is described by party officials as a serious upgrade, with the NEC member quoted earlier calling it a proper campaign HQ, like it was in 1997., The party has also been on a hiring spree in recent months, advertising for dozens of new positions across the country. During the Hartlepool campaign, when opinion polls made clear Labour was going to lose, he was reported by The Times (earlier this month) to have shouted to his team: Everyone hates us, everyone hates us, why do they hate us? Worryingly for Rishi Sunak, only a minority of his own voters, 43%, back a Sunak-led government when it comes to managing the economy. Do you believe Keir Starmer's words? This takeover of party machinery has crucially extended to the partys finances and fundraising efforts. And Ipsos MORI has Starmer 13 points ahead, while other pollsters also show him outperforming his party. However, it is not all bad news for Starmer. UK ; About ; For business . But a third of those 2019 Labour voters now want Sir Keir to resign as party leader after mixed results in last week's elections - including a previously unthinkable by-election defeat in the traditionally safe seat of Hartlepool. He is not. Labour is up 5-points on last week, perhaps suggesting a bounce after the autumn statement, although it is too early to know. But the work that Keir has been doing to reform the party, often without fanfare, means that we can seriously talk about winning the next election. Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party is out of touch with public opinion, poll has found. 7 times Hancock hogged UK headlines, Chief of Staff - Maternity Cover (Brussels), Metsola wants Ukraine EU membership talks to start this year, Aggro-culture: Farmers protest brings Brussels EU Quarter to a standstill, Rishi Sunak says Whitehall must be impartial amid row over Grays Labour job. Woman with cerebral palsy jailed after waving 77-year-old cyclist i Sadiq Khan sparks outrage after branding Britons' concerns about Ul Andrew Tate says he's 'seriously ill' as he seeks permission to lea Hunt set for last minute change to energy price cap which will save Britons hundreds of pounds. Meanwhile, Sunak continues to trail Keir Starmer in most of the country on the question of which would be the better Prime Minister at this moment. The politics of selling it was always going to be a much tougher task. Sir Keir took over his party's leadership from Jeremy Corbyn in April last year, and by September the party was ahead of the Conservatives in some polls for the first time since Mr Johnson became prime minister. Sir Keir Starmer - Labour Party Leader. Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters. While their lead of 9% in the Blue Wall represents a slight one-point narrowing in comparison to the end of last month, the partys lead over the Conservatives has altogether grown during February by two points in the Red Wall and by six points nationally. The opinion polls have turned in the Labour leader's favour - vindicating his 'strategic patience'. Keir Starmer. The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Boris Johnson, leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 24 July 2019 to 6 September 2022. UK opposition leader Keir Starmer will pledge that a Labour government would boost public purchases of local food as he seeks to appeal to country's embattled farmers. Amid all that, Sunak didnt cower in the bunker. The Labour leader is rated better on dealing with the cost of living than both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. But his U-turn looks all the more foolhardy given the current energy crisis and the Tory governments massive bailouts of suppliers. It was the last bit that was telling, implying that there was no one around him who was prepared to bring him bad news honest feedback being a basic requirement of any functioning organisation, as Starmer would have known from running the Crown Prosecution Service. But he has gone further, accepting neoliberal orthodoxy that concessions to workers hinder business and damage economic activity. These polls asked the opinions of British voters, not specifically Scottish voters. Boris Johnson makes a better prime minister than Keir Starmer would despite Partygate, the cost of living crisis and the confidence vote in Johnson held by his MPs, according to the latest Observer poll..