Post-election drop in poll for Starmer as 52% say UK ‘moving in wrong direction’

More than half of people think Britain is “moving in the wrong direction”, according to a poll which shows a drop in favourability for Sir Keir Starmer and his Cabinet.

The poll by Ipsos, conducted between August 9-12, showed a post-General Election drop in the perception of the Prime Minister, as well as his deputy Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Of those polled, 22% said that they think things in Britain are heading in the right direction, 52% in the wrong direction and 19% neither.

Sir Keir remains the most popular politician asked about, with 38% having a favourable opinion towards the Prime Minister and 38% unfavourable.

This is despite a drop in his net rating to 0 from a rating of plus seven immediately after the election, but compares to a net rating of minus 10 for Rishi Sunak in his second month as prime minister.

Deputy Prime Minister Ms Rayner also faced a dip in ratings. Some 33% said they were favourable towards Ms Rayner and 36% unfavourable.

There has been a slight increase in the numbers of those who hold unfavourable opinions towards Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Chancellor Ms Reeves.

Some 28% said they are favourable towards Ms Cooper and 33% unfavourable, with 27% favourable towards Ms Reeves and 35% unfavourable.

Ratings for Mr Sunak and the Conservative Party remain steady post-election. Some 20% said they were favourable towards Mr Sunak and 58% unfavourable.

Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK politics at Ipsos, said Labour and Sir Keir are “still enjoying a moderate honeymoon period”.

He said: “The public feel somewhat more positively towards them than they did before the election was called, they are more popular than their main opponents, and their ratings are above the equivalent figures for Boris Johnson and the Conservatives two months after their 2019 victory, and above the two months after Rishi Sunak became PM.

“But Labour’s ratings are not impregnable (for example, Boris Johnson benefited from a bigger halo effect at the start of the Covid pandemic).

“There are signs of a small increase in public criticism of Labour, the Prime Minister and other key Cabinet  ministers this month, but just as important for their longer-term prospects is the level of pessimism around the state of the country.

“This is not as bad as it was under the Conservatives, but half of Britons still think things are going in the wrong direction, and delivering on the public’s desire for improvements will be key when the honeymoon period ends.”

Hits to perception were seen on the opposition benches for the Liberal Democrats and party leader Sir Ed Davey.

Some 22% said they were favourable towards Sir Ed, down from 29% in the week following the election, while 31% said they were unfavourable towards him compared with 26% in July.

Likewise, 24% said they were favourable towards the Liberal Democrats and 34% unfavourable.

Ratings for Nigel Farage remain broadly in line with those taken in July, while Reform UK sees a marginal slip. Some 54% reported being unfavourable to Mr Farage, similarly 54% are unfavourable to Reform.

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,148 adults aged 18 and over across Britain between August 9–12.

Data is weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.