Half of Britons disappointed in Labour government so far – including 1 in 4 Labour voters

• Half (50%) of Britons say they are disappointed by what Labour have done in government so far – including a quarter (26%) of Labour voters
• A quarter (25%) think Keir Starmer is doing a good job as Prime Minister – down from 36% in July
• Britons are more likely to think that the Labour government will change Britain for the worse (36%) than the better (31%) 

New research from Ipsos, carried out 13-16 September, has assessed views of how the Labour government has performed in government thus far, as well as perceptions of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The findings suggest that the "honeymoon period" following Labour's victory in the 2024 General Election may be coming to an end and demonstrate increasing levels of public dissatisfaction with the leadership of Keir Starmer. 

The end of the honeymoon period for Labour 

• Half (50%) of Britons say that they are disappointed with what Labour have done in government so far. This includes a quarter (26%) of those who voted for the party in the last General Election on 4th July. 
• 83% of Conservative voters, 91% of Reform UK voters, and 38% of Liberal Democrat voters are unhappy with the government’s performance. 
• Disappointment is highest among those aged 55-75, with 63% saying that they are unhappy. 
• Those aged 18-34 are split on Labour’s performance, with an equal proportion (32%) expressing satisfaction and dissatisfaction.  

• Britons are slightly more likely to think the Labour government will change Britain for the worse (36%) than the better (31%). 
• 6 in 10 (61%) of Labour voters believe the government will change Britain for the better. 
• Once again, support is highest among those aged 18-34, with 45% saying that Labour will change Britain for the better (24% worse). This is compared with a quarter (25%) of those aged 55-75 (43% worse). 
• The public is split on whether the Labour government is doing a better or worse job than the previous Conservative government (33% better, 28% about the same, 32% worse). 

Labour’s missions

Elsewhere in the poll, Labour’s performance on the five key missions that the party campaigned on was assessed, with the public asked to say how the party is performing now, and how they expect the party to perform ahead of the next General Election, currently expected to be in five years’ time. 

• The NHS is the top priority for Britons, with two thirds (68%) saying that building an NHS fit for the future is the most important of Labour’s missions. 
• Britons are divided on Labour's performance on the NHS. Only 22% believe the government is currently doing a good job at its mission to "build an NHS fit for the future," while 37% believe they are doing a bad job. However, public opinion is more optimistic about the future, with 32% believing Labour will do a good job on the NHS by the next election.
• Long term, the public are most pessimistic about Labour’s mission to ‘take back our streets’ with just 26% expecting the party to do a good job on this mission in the next 5 years and 38% expecting them to do a bad job.

Approval ratings for Keir Starmer

• Starmer's approval rating has declined significantly. Only 25% of those surveyed believe he is doing a good job as Prime Minister, down 11 ppts from July 2024.

Keiran Pedley, UK Director of Politics at Ipsos said: 

These findings reflect other Ipsos research that shows declining ratings for Keir Starmer, a lukewarm response to the new Labour government and a sense of public pessimism about the future of the country. As Labour gathers for party conference next week, the Prime Minister and his party will be hoping to inject some belief into the public that the Labour government can deliver against the public’s priorities in the months and years to come.

Technical note
Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,082 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone between the 13th – 16th September 2024. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.