Sir Keir Starmer has suffered a fresh blow as a major new survey reveals just one in 10 think he is doing a good job.
Voters are deserting Labour with those who backed the party at the last election suffering “buyer’s remorse”.
Failing to stop small boat crossings and taking winter fuel payments away from pensioners were given as the main reasons for anger at the government.
Those who backed the party at the last election say there is a six in 10 chance on average of voting for them again next time.
And in a finding that will worry Chancellor Rachel Reeves polling also showed just 2% of voters, one in 50, think the economy is in good shape.
The research, by former Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, found that one in three voters who switched from the Conservatives to Labour last year wish they had made a different choice.
And just one in five voters are optimistic about the future while 57 per cent think the UK is not ‘on the right track’, while 82 per cent do not think that the economy is in good shape.
However, when asked which is the most effective party 27% said “no one” with 26% naming Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and 14% Kemi Badenoch’s Tories on 14 per cent.
The polling was carried out by Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, who said: “In my research, when we ask people what stories they remember, they mention winter fuel allowance cuts, rising small-boat migration, tax rises, the struggling economy, broken promises and the lavish supply of free accommodation, tickets, clothes and spectacles we now know the Prime Minister and his colleagues enjoyed while decrying their opponents’ cronyism.”
Writing in the Mail on Sunday he said: “Only one in 20 said the party’s actions had had a positive effect on their household. And while many voted for change, a majority – again including a quarter of Labour voters – say the country is still heading in the wrong direction. Just one in 50 think the economy is doing well.
“Though most think this is down to the Tories or factors beyond any government’s control, nearly one in three say it is largely down to Labour – or ‘Rachel from Accounts’, as Chancellor Ms Reeves is now widely known.
“People fear her hike in employers’ National Insurance and other burdens on business will mean lower growth and higher prices, worsening rather than relieving the cost of living.”
And he said: “Majorities in all political and demographic groups are pessimistic about Britain’s future. Not only that, few feel that the Government has a sense of purpose, or have any confidence in the Prime Minister to get a grip.”