Almost half say Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves doing a bad job– their worst ratings since taking office

A new Ipsos poll reveals that the British public continues to be dissatisfied with the Labour Party's performance since assuming government. The poll also shows Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have not yet managed to reverse the decline in their approval ratings, and concerns about the Labour party’s economic plans (though even less confidence in the Conservatives).

Britons continue to express disappointment in Labour thus far

• Keir Starmer’s popularity continues to decline: Almost half (48%) of Britons believe Keir Starmer is doing a bad job as Prime Minister, just 23% are positive. This is a slight 3ppt negative swing since November, and much worse than immediately after taking office in July 2024, when 14% said he was doing a bad job.
• Government performance under scrutiny: Nearly half (48%) of Britons think the Labour government is doing badly at running the country, a figure comparable to ratings of Boris Johnson's government.

• Widespread disappointment: Over half (56%) of Britons are disappointed with Labour's performance in government, with fewer than one in five (18%) feeling pleased. This disappointment is particularly pronounced among those aged 55-75, with 71% expressing disappointment compared with 58% of those aged 35-54 and 37% of those aged 18-34. 
• Pessimism about Labour’s plans for the future: Two in five Britons (40%) believe the Labour government will change Britain for the worse (up 4ppts since September), while only 27% believe it will lead to positive change. Once again older Britons express more scepticism of the government, with 53% of those aged 55-75 believing that the government will change Britain for the worse (compared with 38% of those aged 35-54 and 27% of those aged 18-34). Overall, 60% lack confidence in Labour’s plans for changing Britain generally (32% are confident), but there is even less trust in the Conservatives, with 68% lacking confidence in their plans for change.

Economic concerns linger

• Rachel Reeves popularity declines: Almost half (46%) say that Rachel Reeves has been doing a bad job as Chancellor, up 4 ppts since January.  Only 16% are positive, giving her the worst net rating since taking office.

• Doubts about Labour’s economic vision: Almost half of Britons (49%) believe Labour's economic plans will negatively impact the country. 45% say that Labour’s economic plans will negatively impact them personally.  
• Britons are not convinced that either of the main parties have a good long-term economic plan for Britain: One in three (32%) Britons are confident that Labour has a good long-term economic plan for Britain (60% not confident). This is slightly higher than the 24% who are confident that the Conservatives have a good long-term economic plan (66% not confident).

Gideon Skinner, Senior Director of UK Politics at Ipsos said: 

Labour was elected with a mandate to change the state of the country, but our latest poll shows that Britons still believe they are failing to deliver that change – and if anything disappointment is growing (although the Conservatives are also undoubtedly struggling to provide an alternative). Almost half of Britons believe Keir Starmer is doing a bad job as Prime Minister, and a similar number feel the Labour government is performing poorly overall – with older people especially negative. Of particular concern for Labour should be the public's lack of faith in their handling of the economy, with many unconvinced by their long-term economic plan. With the Bank of England halving the UK’s economic growth forecast last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will want to demonstrate that she has a plan to deliver on the government's commitment to growing the economy to build trust with the public, and one that voters will feel makes a difference to them personally as well as to the macroeconomic picture.

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,087 online British adults aged 18-75. Interviews were conducted between the 3rd-5th February 2024. 
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.