On the eve of the first Labour Party Conference since they came into power, Opinium’s latest poll finds the prime minister’s approval rating is at it’s lowest ever.
Kier Starmer’s net approval rating has dropped even further to -26% (24% approve, 50% disapprove), with a majority now disapproving of the way he is handling his job. The prime minister’s net approval ratings are down 13 points from -13 at a fortnight ago and down a by 45 points from +19% in his first approval rating as prime minister. This -26% is Starmer’s lowest ever score by 12 points (his last lowest score was a net approval of -14% in August 2022).
By contrast, Rishi Sunak’s approval ratings have risen 5 points to -25%, which has been stable for most of the post-election period, and Ed Davey’s ratings are relatively stable at +3%.
The verdict on the Labour government
Almost half of the public now have a more negative view of Starmer (45%) and Labour (45%) since they came into office, with only 27% viewing the new government’s first few months as a success. On top of this, even a third (32%) of 2024 Labour voters think the government has not been a success.
Opinions are split on whether the new government is on par with the old, with 30% thinking Keir Starmer’s Labour government is better than the last Conservative government under Rishi Sunak, similar to the 34% that think it is worse.
In addition to this, Labour are no longer seen as a united party (32% united vs 37% not), and are seen by almost half (45%) as out of touch with ordinary people (45% in touch, 30% out of touch), which is a net score of -15. This is down significantly from their score in June during the election campaign (44% in touch, 30% out of touch) when it was the party’s biggest strength with a net score of +14.
Labour continue to lead on almost all issue areas
Despite the drop in approval ratings for the party and its leader, Labour continues to lead on almost all issue areas, with its strongest leads being on health/NHS (Lab +19) and inequality (Lab +16).
However, Labour has a drop in its lead across most issues of around 8-points on average, including Labour’s largest drop on energy and power, with its lead down 12 points from +20 in late July to +8 now.
In addition, Labour has almost lost its lead on the economy, down from +10 in July to +1 now.
James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at Opinium said: “While the prime minister might have a world beating new wardrobe, voters are refusing to wear his government’s austerity drive.
“Not only do the public feel worse off than they did before the election but concerns that Labour has focused too much on government finances rather than growth have almost wiped out their lead on the economy. Much of the blame for this tone is being directed at Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, who now have approval ratings on a par with Rishi Sunak.”
