Sir Keir Starmer is facing an uphill battle as a new poll has found that he is just as unpopular as Rishi Sunak was when he called the general election. The Prime Minister has a net approval rating of -27, according to polling by More in Common, a score which has fallen by 38 points since July.
Rishi Sunak had a net approval rating of -28 when he called the general election in early May. Luke Tryl, the director of the think tank, said: “After some tough headlines this week the Starmer slide in approval has continued.”
The Prime Minister said that he was unbothered by his popularity ratings, which have continued to plummet after the scrapping of the winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners and the ensuing union rebellion. He told the BBC during his visit to New York on Thursday: “I will be judged at the next election on whether I have delivered higher living standards so people are better off, better public services with the NHS functioning properly again, and delivered on things like borders security, economic security and national security.”
Allies of Sir Keir have defended his rhetoric over recent weeks, which some have criticised as being too “gloomy” for the public. Jonathan Ashworth, the head of the influential Labour Together think tank and ex-shadow Cabinet minister, said that people did not want “the sugary razzmatazz of Boris Johnson” but a more serious figure.
He told The House magazine: “The British public will respect someone if he levels with them and is straight with them,” he added.
