Labour haemorrhaging voters in blow to Keir Starmer as Nigel Farage boosted

Labour is haemorrhaging voters just a year into power, according to new polling. The survey found that only three in five of those who voted for Sir Keir Starmer's party at last year's general election would do so again.

Broken promises and U-turns on previous commitments, the winter fuel payments fiasco, failures on immigration, and benefit cuts are some of the main reasons people are abandoning Labour. Meanwhile, some 63% of respondents said the Prime Minister does not respect them.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is seen as the most respectful party leader with 33% backing him, compared to 24% who say the same about Sir Keir or Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

Marc Stears, director at UCL Policy Lab, which conducted the research with More in Common, said: “What voters want to know most of all is: who does this government stand for? What kind of people does it most respect? Whose interests does it put first?

"A lot of the electorate thought they knew the answer to that one year ago. Now they’re not so sure.”

The poll of more than 7,000 people found that Labour is losing both new and loyal voters, who are splitting in every direction.

Of the backers the party gained between 2019 and 2024, just 43% said they would still vote for them.

And one in five long-term Labour voters said they would not do so if an election was held tomorrow.

Britons are also now more likely to say “It’s time for change” even than they were during the 2024 election campaign.

Asked what’s changed in the year since Labour entered government, the most popular answer was “nothing”.

The Government's most popular policy in the last year was raising the minimum wage.

The pollsters said policies seen as respectful of ordinary people could help Labour win back voters.

More in Common and UCL Policy Lab polled 7,847 in May and June.