Keir Starmer's net favourability rating has plummeted to between -50 and -57, a nadir only beaten by Liz Truss. Focus group participants have described the prime minister as a 'jellyfish' and a 'doormat', while chants of 'Keir Starmer's a wanker' have been heard at football stadiums and the world darts championship.
Despite Labour generally polling better than other parties, Starmer's personal unpopularity stands out. Leaders typically enjoy support from their own party's voters, but Starmer's backing from 2024 Labour voters has evaporated, attributed to government blunders and a policy focus on chasing Reform voters rather than engaging the base.
YouGov's Anthony Wells notes that while Rishi Sunak was seen as doing a terrible job, there wasn't the deep personal dislike directed at Starmer. 'Disappointment in the scale of delivery, and the feeling he hasn't got much of a clear purpose – are not what you would expect to drive a great dislike,' he said.
MPs offer various theories. One opposition MP suggests a herd mentality: 'No one wants to be the one that defends him. Once the view is that you're useless, there's no coming back.' A Labour backbencher said some voters 'just feel betrayed, there's a belief that he has ruined something for them.'
Luke Tryl of More in Common says the anger stems from a sense that Starmer's promise of change was a sham. 'Where the real anger comes from is a sense of the whole 'it's a change, it's something different' was a sham,' he said. Rapid errors, such as the freebies controversy and winter fuel payment cuts, crystallised negative perceptions early on.
