Sir Keir Starmer has suffered the biggest fall in approval rating after winning an election of any prime minister in the modern era, a poll has shown.
Sir Keir’s approval rating was at a high of plus 11 in July after Labour won the election with a landslide 174-seat majority – the biggest in 25 years – according to the poll, by More in Common.
But by this month, ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Budget on Wednesday, his personal rating hads fallen to -38 – a net drop of 49.
It takes him below Rishi Sunak’s rating, which this month has improved from -37 when he lost the election to -31, according to the poll of 1,012 adults.
In comparison, Sir Tony Blair’s approval was still at plus 46 in August 1997, three months after his landslide victory, when the figure stood at plus 60. It took until summer 2000 before his rating turned negative.
David Cameron’s approval rating did not turn negative until the start of 2011, after he had defeated Labour and formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats in 2010.
It was not until the “omnishambles” Budget of April 2012 that his rating dropped to just above -30.
Boris Johnson, who started off at -20 despite winning the 2019 election, had turned his rating around to plus three by January and then plus 14 by the following March.
Luke Tryl, the executive director of More in Common, said the collapse in Sir Keir’s approval rating was “unprecedented” compared with other prime ministers in the modern era.
He also suggested the electorate had become more volatile over the past couple of decades, and added: “Although they had a landslide, in terms of popularity they didn’t have the slack to spare that other new governments had.”
Two key issues had also played badly in terms of the public’s perception of the Government, said Mr Tryl. “If you ask what people have noticed, by a country mile it is the decision on the winter fuel allowance and the early release of prisoners,” he explained.
He also cited controversies over freebies for ministers and the row over the Labour donor Lord Alli’s gifts to key party figures, including Sir Keir.
Other polling by More in Common this month showed that, compared to the previous government, 69 per cent of those questioned said Sir Keir’s felt more like the same. This was a two to one majority over those who felt his administration was genuinely different.
Two thirds – 66 per cent – said things were getting worse, while only nine per cent said things were getting better. Twenty-one per cent said things were “staying about the same”.
Overall, the polling showed Labour and Tories tied on 27 per cent of the vote, with Reform UK on 21 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on 13.
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