As the row deepens over the Prime Minister’s handling of Peter Mandleson’s connections with convicted sex offender, Jeffery Epstein, more than half (55%) of the public say Keir Starmer should resign as Labour leader.
Only a quarter (23%) believe he should remain in post.
This has remained broadly stable since November last year. 2024 Labour voters are split on this, with over a third (37%) thinking he should resign as leader, while just under half (48%) think he should remain.
A majority of the public (56%) believe Keir Starmer should have anticipated the controversy before appointing Mandelson as UK ambassador to the United States and should not have appointed him.
Only 15% believe the decision was reasonable based on what was known at the time.
Over a third (35%) disapprove of Starmer’s response to recent reports of the extent of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein, while 22% approved (net -13). Over two in five (45%) say the controversy reflects equally negatively on Keir Starmer and his advisers in Downing Street. Nearly one in five (18%) believe it reflects most negatively on Starmer personally, compared to 11% for his advisers (11%).
There is also strong public support for sanctions against Lord Mandelson himself. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (71%) believe he should be stripped of his peerage, with just 6% saying he should retain it.
The public are supportive of stronger accountability measures in the House of Lords. Three in five (62%) members of the public would support changes that would make it easier to remove peers from the House of Lords or strip them of their title. Three in five (60%) also support making the rules for peers having outside jobs and roles stricter.
Keir Starmer’s overall approval rating remains very low, dropping three points to net -44, while Kemi Badenoch is up three points at net -9 and Nigel Farage sits at net -11.
Reform continues to lead the polls on 31% (n/c), followed by Labour (23%, +1), the Conservatives (16%, -1), the Lib Dems (10%, -3), and the Greens on 13% (+2).
Away from Westminster scandals, Labour holds an advantage over the Conservatives on immigration across half of the issues tested, specifically on fairness and integration. Labour leads the Conservatives by four points on a fair process for asylum seekers and by seven points on the integration of different communities.
However, the picture worsens for Labour when compared with Reform. Labour trails Reform by 15 points on handling the overall number of people migrating to the UK, leading only on the issue of community integration.
James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at Opinium, said, “The deepening fallout from the Mandelson appointment has pushed Starmer’s rating even lower, with most voters now questioning his judgement on the appointment and placing equal blame on the prime minister and his advisers “
