Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has been handed a brutal verdict by the public just one year after its landslide election win, with many poll respondents now saying the new government is as chaotic as the Conservatives it replaced. A new mega-poll has suggested that 72% of people think the Labour government is at least as disorderly as Rishi Sunak’s administration.
Shockingly, more than a third (37%) believe Starmer’s team is even worse. It comes after a difficult week in Westminster, with infighting and confusion over welfare policy dominating the headlines. The prime minister’s approval rating has now plummeted to a record low of -43.
The poll, carried out by think tank More in Common and published by The Times, used a method known as multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) to model voting intention.
It surveyed more than 10,000 adults across the UK to predict how a general election might unfold if held today.
According to the findings, Reform UK would become the largest party in a hung parliament, winning an estimated 290 seats.
Labour would fall to 126 seats, losing more than half of those secured last year.
Several senior ministers, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, are all projected to lose their seats.
The figures follow growing anger over Labour’s handling of welfare reforms.
After a U-turn on plans to change Personal Independence Payments (PIP), more than half of voters (57%) now describe Labour as divided, while nearly two-thirds (63%) say Starmer has lost control of his party.
Concerns over tax rises and spending cuts are also fuelling frustration.
According to the poll, 80% of voters expect taxes on working people to rise this year, and 67% believe public services will face cuts. Some 66% also say Labour will break its own fiscal rules.
In a separate survey asking the public to grade the government’s performance in its first year, the average mark was an E, with F being the most common score.
Despite some sympathy for Reeves following a tearful moment in Parliament, the majority of voters still favour former chancellor Jeremy Hunt or Mel Stride to handle the economy.
Meanwhile, Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is continuing to benefit as trust in the Labour Party fades.
The new polling suggests there is a big shift in voter sentiment, just a year after Labour’s landslide victory.
Labour is now expected to announce new policies to regain support, including a £500 million plan to create family hubs and a potential migration deal with France, but the pressure is mounting on Starmer.