The number of Britons who think Starmer lacks respect for them has doubled since he entered Downing Street.
Since the General Election, the proportion of Britons who think that Keir Starmer does not respect people like them has more than doubled: 63 per cent now say that the Prime Minister lacks respect for them.
- In June 2024, 41 per cent of Britons said that Keir Starmer respected people like them, while 32 per cent said he did not.
- A year into his Premiereship, 63 per cent of Britons say the Prime Minister does not respect people like them, compared to only a quarter who feel he does respect them.
Two-thirds think the Labour Party lacks respect for them
Similarly, Britons are now far less likely to feel the Labour Party has respect for them.
- Twenty-two per cent of the public think that the Labour Party respects people like them, compared to nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) who say that the Party lacks respect for them.
- Much like perceptions of the Prime Minister, this sense of disrespect has become far more widespread since the election: in May 2024, 40 per cent of Britons said the Labour Party respected them, and only 34 per cent disagreed.
Lack of respect driving support for Reform UK
Across a range of measures, Reform voters are the most likely voter group to feel disrespected by political elites:
- 85 per cent say politicians don’t respect their contribution to society.
- 86 per cent feel that their values and priorities are not respected by politicians
- 88 per cent think the Labour Party does not respect people like them
- 85 per cent think Starmer does not respect people like them.
Voters see Farage as most respectful party leader
Britons are more likely to say that Nigel Farage – rather than Keir Starmer or Kemi Badenoch – respects people like them:
- 33 per cent of Britons believe that the Reform leader respects people like them, compared to 24 per cent who say the same about the PM or LOTO.
- While half of Britons (50 per cent) say Farage lacks respect for them, this is lower than say the same about Badenoch (56 per cent) or Starmer (63 per cent).
Policies which demonstrate respect could be the path to getting Labour back on track
Asked about the government’s successes over the past year, minimum wage increases top the list, with 20 per cent selecting it as one of Labour’s best three moves in government.
A year on from the General Election, most say nothing has changed
A year after the Labour government was elected with a mandate to radically change the country, few think that they’ve seen a difference:
- Asked what’s changed in the year since Labour entered government, the most popular answer was “nothing”.
- Other top answers include ‘worse’, ‘immigration’, ‘taxes’, ‘prices’ and ‘cost of living’.
A year after the ‘Change Election’, Britons still think it’s time to change
- Weeks before the 2024 General Election, More in Common asked the public which of the two main party’s campaign slogans they most aligned with: “It’s time for change” or “we need to stick to the plan”, Three quarters of Britons (74 per cent) said “it’s time for change”.
- A year after the election, Britons are now slightly more likely to think it’s time to change: 77 per cent think it’s time for change.
Labour has lost most of their new voters – as well as many lifelong Labour supporters
Only 3 in 5 Labour voters would still back the party today.
- Of those who voted for Labour in the General Election, only 60 per cent say they would vote for the party in an election held tomorrow.
- Labour’s voters are defecting in every direction: 11 per cent would vote Reform, 8 per cent would vote Liberal Democrat, 4 per cent would vote Green and 4 per cent would vote Conservative. A further one in ten say they don’t know how they would vote.
Labour has lost most of their new voters:
- Of the voters Labour gained between 2019 and 2024, barely four in ten (43 per cent) say they would still vote for the party in an election held tomorrow.
- Labour’s losses have been most dramatic among their first time voters. Of those who voted for Labour in 2024 but not in any other General Election since 2010, barely a third still support the party (35 per cent), while a fifth (21 per cent) would vote for Reform UK.`
Labour is also losing their loyal long-term voters
- Of those who voted for the party in every General Election in the last 15 years – one in five (22 per cent) say they would not vote Labour if an election was held tomorrow, with the largest proportion of defectors going to the Liberal Democrats.
Labour is losing votes to Reform over immigration, and to the Left over benefits: Voters are fed up with Labour their ‘broken promises and u-turns’ and are ‘turning away’
- Alongside u-turns, the 11 per cent of Labour voters who have since switched to Reform say they have defected because the government has failed to get immigration under control (44 per cent selected this).
- The 12 percent who have switched to the Liberal Democrats or Greens Party cite failure to reduce the cost of living and a perception that Labour is too right-wing. Changes to the benefits system stands out as a policy that has led Labour’s progressive flank to rethink their allegiance.
U-Turns undermining Labour’s support:
- The main reason voters give for turning away from Labour – regardless of who they would vote for instead – is broken promises and u-turns on previous commitments. More than a third (36 per cent) select this as a reason.
- Also high on the list is failing to deliver on the cost of living, and their changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance.
