A Third Of Labour Voters Think Keir Starmer Should Step Down, Poll Finds
One in three Labour voters say Keir Starmer should step down as prime minister, according to a new poll.
A JL Partners survey, commissioned by the Independent, asked Labour voters if they thought the party had a better chance of winning the next general election if they replaced Starmer – 38% of the 1,562 adults questioned said yes.
A further 39% said getting rid of Starmer would not impact the party’s hopes at the next election, while just 13% said Labour would do worse without the prime minister at the helm and 10% did not offer an opinion.
The poll found that Labour voters have even less faith in Starmer than the general public, as only half of the wider electorate think he should step down.
James Johnson of JL Partners told the Independent: “The results underline the degree to which all voters have lost faith in Keir Starmer. What will worry Downing St most is the belief that Labour would do better under a new leader is strongest among Labour supporters themselves.”
The survey asked which Labour figure voters would like to succeed Starmer.
Manchester mayor and former cabinet minister Andy Burnham came out on top with 19% of Labour voters backing him, even though he is not an MP and therefore not eligible to be party leader.
Former deputy PM Angela Rayner came out in second place with 10% of the vote, while deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell was not far behind on 9%.
Health secretary Wes Streeting and Energy secretary Ed Miliband were both on 6% while home secretary Shabana Mahmood was on 4%.
The education secretary Bridget Phillipson was put on 3% and chief secretary to the PM Darren Jones was on 2%.
The poll also ranked all seven of Labour’s prime ministers in history – and Starmer came out in last place.
The survey comes after the Labour campaign group Labour Together secretly conducted a poll on Starmer’s popularity among its members.
The findings are a real blow to the prime minister, just 18 months on from a landslide victory.