Keir Starmer’s rankings hunch with greater than half of the general public disapproving of his efficiency – as PM plots a significant ‘reset’ of his stumbling premiership simply 5 months after getting into No10
Sir Keir Starmer has seen an eight-point drop in his approval ratings with more than half of the public disapproving of the Prime Minister’s job performance, a new poll has revealed.
Little more than a fifth of voters (22 per cent) approve of Sir Keir’s perfomance as premier, compared to 54 per cent who disapprove, the Opinium survey showed.
This gives the PM a net approval rating of -32 per cent, which is down eight points from a fortnight ago.
Amid the continuing backlash to her recent Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also similarly viewed with a net approval rating of -31 per cent.
It comes as Sir Keir prepares to stage a major reset of his premiership in the coming days as he delivers a speech outlining a ‘plan for change’ with milestones set in key policy areas.
The PM, who will have spent five months in No10 on Thursday, has suffered a rocky start to life in Downing Street.
The speech will be seen as an attempt by Sir Keir to get his stumbling premiership back on track following the widespread anger at Labour‘s tax plans and his ‘freebies’ row.
His first months in No10 have also seen the PM forced to sack Sue Gray as his chief of staff amid Downing Street infighting.
And Sir Keir suffered a further blow in recent days with the resignation of Louise Haigh as transport secretary when it emerged she had a criminal conviction.
Sir Keir Starmer has seen an eight-point drop in his approval ratings with more than half of the public disapproving of the Prime Minister’s job performance, a new poll has revealed
Amid the continuing backlash to her recent Budget , Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also similarly viewed with a net approval rating of -31 per cent
Sir Keir suffered a further blow in recent days with the resignation of Louise Haigh as transport secretary when it emerged she had a criminal conviction
Opinium carried out an online survey of 2,055 UK adults from 27 to 29 November
The PM will use the speech to announce the markers for his ‘missions’ that No10 say will allow the public to hold Sir Keir and his team to account on their promises.
The milestones will run alongside public sector reform, Downing Street said.
This will include a focus on reforming Whitehall, spearheaded by the as-yet-unannounced new Cabinet Secretary, so it is geared towards the delivery of Labour’s missions.
The same focus will also influence decisions for next year’s spending review, it has been suggested.
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, the PM compared ‘focusing the machinery of government’ to ‘turning an oil tanker’ and said that ‘acceptance of managed decline’ has ‘seeped into parts of Whitehall’.
‘The British people aren’t fools. They know a ruthless focus on priorities is essential,’ he wrote.
The Sunday Times reported that one of the milestones would focus on early education, with the aim to raise the number of children who are ready for school, educationally and socially.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said that ‘it’s estimated that more than a million school days worth of teacher time each year is spent dealing with’ children who are not prepared for school.
Labour’s missions, as laid out in their July election manifesto, focus on economic growth, energy security and cleaner energy, the NHS, childcare and education systems, as well as crime and criminal justice.
Ahead of revealing the details, Sir Keir said in a statement: ‘This plan for change is the most ambitious yet honest programme for government in a generation.
‘Mission-led government does not mean picking milestones because they are easy or will happen anyway – it means relentlessly driving real improvements in the lives of working people.
‘We are already fixing the foundations and have kicked-started our first steps for change, stabilising the economy, setting up a new Border Security Command, and investing £22 billion in an NHS that is fit for the future.
‘Our plan for change is the next phase of delivering this Government’s mission.
‘Some may oppose what we are doing and no doubt there will be obstacles along the way, but this Government was elected on mandate of change and our plan reflects the priorities of working people.
‘Given the unprecedented challenges we have inherited we will not achieve this by simply doing more of the same, which is why investment comes alongside a programme of innovation and reform.’
The so-called ‘missions’ outlined in Labour’s election manifesto focused on five key policy areas: kickstart economic growth; make Britain a clean energy superpower; take back our streets; break down barriers to opportunity; and build an NHS fit for the future.
Adam Drummond, head of political and social research at Opinium said: ‘After a brief improvement post-budget, Keir Starmer’s ratings are back below -30 and Labour’s scores on various issues are down.
‘That being said, Starmer still leads Kemi Badenoch as ‘best prime minister’ and the Conservatives remain behind on most issues.
‘Five months after the country sacked the last government, it simply seems they don’t notice much in the way of improvements and are losing faith in the replacements they hired.
‘Voters, and the Government, must be hoping that things can only get better.’
Opinium carried out an online survey of 2,055 UK adults from 27 to 29 November.
