Half of voters think Sir Keir Starmer should be ousted as Prime Minister before the next election.
A new poll for The i Paper by BMG Research shows that even a large number of those who voted Labour at the last election have turned against the party’s current leader.
The findings suggest it will be an uphill struggle for the Prime Minister to regain the authority that he once held – and to dismiss questions about his future as nothing more than Westminster gossip.
But they also provide a warning for Labour rebels by showing there is no replacement leader – other than Burnham, who is not currently an MP – who is currently backed by more than a tiny minority of voters.
Burnham leads unpopular challengers
And even Burnham, the Manchester Mayor, is only supported by 21 per cent of those who think Starmer should go. This is well ahead of leading contenders health secretary Wes Streeting and former deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who command the support of just 4 per cent of those who want Starmer to go.
The results illustrate the dilemma facing Labour MPs. While Keir Starmer is extremely unpopular there is no clear alternative who would command widespread support. When given a list of current cabinet ministers and Sadiq Khan, 22 per cent of those who responded said none of the above – more than those who back Burnham – and 32 per cent said they didn’t know.
Asked whether Starmer should be ousted before the next general election, 50 per cent of the public said yes and 23 per cent said no, with another 26 per cent unsure. Among Labour voters, 46 per cent wanted the Prime Minister to stay in post with 41 per cent keen for a change.
That is largely unchanged from a previous poll on the same topic conducted in January, which suggests that neither Starmer’s generally acclaimed handling of the Iran war nor the re-emergence of the Peter Mandelson scandal has substantially shifted public opinion.
Of those who back a change of leadership, just 15 per cent think that it would right to wait until the Middle Eastern crisis is over with 70 per cent keen to push ahead with Starmer’s ousting.
Farage out in front as preferred PM
In further bad news for Labour none of Keir Starmer’s potential replacements perform well against other party leaders – and none would beat Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski is a preferred Prime Minister compared to Burnham, Rayner and energy secretary Ed Miliband. Contradictorily, Keir Starmer is the only Labour leader who would be the preferred PM against all the other leaders except for Nige Farage.
But in a further illustration of the splintering of UK politics, the numbers are low. Nigel Farage commands the most support as preferred PM on 22 per cent when compared to Starmer, who is on 16 per cent. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch compared to the PM wins 15 per cent support and Polanski 14 per cent.
When compared to Burnham as PM, voters in The i Paper poll placed him on 12 per cent, compared to 23 per cent for Farage, 17 per cent for Badenoch and 16 per cent for Polanski.
The case for Burnham
Robert Struthers of BMG said: “The case for Burnham is clear. From his mayoral position, he has become by far the most popular alternative figure. No other Labour frontrunner comes close, whether Rayner, Streeting, Miliband or any other.
“By way of comparison, Burnham’s 21 per cent among those who want a change compares with Sadiq Khan – the other high-profile Labour mayor – at just 2 per cent. He has been able to capture the imagination of a notable share of the public in a way that no other leading Labour figure has been able to.”
Burnham would not be eligible to stand for the leadership in the event of a vacancy opening up, because he is not currently an MP. His attempt to return to the Commons in a by-election was blocked by Labour’s governing body which is dominated by Starmer allies.
Struthers said: “Our polling suggests Burnham performs slightly worse than Starmer when asked who would make the best prime minister against other party leaders. Supporters of Burnham would counter that, given time to set out a vision for the country, this could change. But backers of Starmer can make the case that no alternative candidate immediately improves Labour’s position – or at least that that idea is not a given.”
He concluded: “That said, with Labour on 19 per cent and a historically unpopular Prime Minister, it is hard to see how things could get much worse.”
BMG surveyed a representative sample of 1,521 GB adults between 29 and 30 April. BMG are members of the British Polling Council and abide by its rules.
Hence then, the article about half of voters want starmer replaced before the next election was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Half of voters want Starmer replaced before the next election )
Also on site :