The damage to Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership from the Lord Mandelson scandal is laid bare in new polling which shows eight of 10 Britons believe this Government is “at least as sleazy” as the previous Conservative Government. People who voted to put Sir Keir into power last year now have a dim view of his administration.
Nearly six out of 10 (59%) Labour voters say this Government is as sleazy as its predecessor. A third of Britons (32%) believe it is “more sleazy”.
Luke Tryl of More in Common, which published the polling, said: “The past two weeks have been among the most difficult for the Government so far, and for the Prime Minister himself. Following Angela Rayner’s resignation and now the Mandelson scandal, Starmer’s ratings have sunk to a new low.
“Four in five Britons now think this Government is just as sleazy as the last, and that view has risen most among Labour’s own voters, with most of those who voted for the party now saying they are no less sleazy than the government they replaced.”
The polling makes painful reading for Sir Keir.
Mr Tryl said: “The Prime Minister himself is now seen as out of touch, while only a minority of the public thinks he is decisive or honest. The time to turn things around is running out; both this Autumn’s Labour Party conference and Budget could well be make or break moments for the Government.”
Almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) say it was inappropriate to appoint Lord Mandelson in the first place because of his connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Nearly three-quarters (73%) think it was the right decision to remove him as the US ambassador. But nearly four out of 10 (39%) say the decision came too slowly.
Disturbingly for the PM, 73% say Sir Keir is not a good judge of character; 71% see him as out of touch and only 32% describe him as decisive. A mere 17% say he is doing a good job with 63% saying he is doing a bad job.