Half of Britons think Keir Starmer should stand down as Prime Minister

• 50% think Starmer should stand down. 36% think he should continue. Sentiment unchanged since autumn.
• Two thirds (68%) of Britons think it is unlikely Keir Starmer will win the next General Election.
• If Starmer was to stand down Andy Burnham is the public’s preferred choice as Labour leader. But majority have no preference or don’t know.

New data from Ipsos in the UK’s Political Pulse survey, taken 17-21 April 2026 reveals half (50%) of Britons think Keir Starmer should stand down as Prime Minister.

Labour leadership

• 50%percent of Britons think Keir Starmer should stand down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party (-2 percentage points from February 2026). Over a third (36%) think Starmer should continue (-1 from Feb 26).
• 68% of Britons think it is unlikely Keir Starmer will win the next General Election (+5 from Jun ’25).
• However Britons are uncertain of what would happen to Labour if Starmer was no longer leader. 36% of Britons think Labour would be more likely to win the next General Election  with someone else as leader as Prime Minister (-1 from Feb ‘26), while 37% think it would make no difference (-2 from Feb ‘26). 12% think Labour are more likely to win the next election with Starmer as leader and Prime Minister. 

Burnham the preferred alternative

• If Starmer was no longer Labour leader, Andy Burnham leads as the public’s preferred choice to be leader (17%). Burnham also leads among 2024 Labour voters (25%). However a sizeable proportion of the public say either none of them (28%) or don’t know (27%).
• 5% of Britons would prefer Angela Rayner to be the next leader of the Labour party (10% among 2024 Labour voters), followed by Wes Streeting on 4%.

Politician favourability ratings

• Three in ten (30%) are favourable towards Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, with 24% unfavourable (net +6).
• 19% are favourable towards Keir Starmer, with 59% unfavourable (net -40).
• 18% are favourable towards Angela Rayner, 49% unfavourable (-31). Britons also oppose the idea of Rayner returning to government – 18% support this, 43% oppose.
• 17% are favourable towards Health Secretary Wes Streeting, with 39% unfavourable (net -22).
• 17% are favourable towards Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Milliband, with 47% unfavourable (net -30).
• 16% are favourable towards Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, with 40% unfavourable (net -24).
• 12% are favourable towards Chancellor Rachel Reeves, with 57% unfavourable (net -45). 

Other parties and their leaders

Although Britons do not think Keir Starmer will win the next election, Britons have doubts about any other party leaders ever being Prime Minister: 

• Nigel Farage: Britons are less likely to think Farage will ever be Prime Minister in the future compared to September 2025. 40% think it is likely Farage will be Prime Minister in the future (-9 from Sept ’25),  43% think it is unlikely (+9). However, they are more likely to think he will be than others.
• Kemi Badenoch: 25% think it is likely Badenoch will be Prime Minister in the future (+3), 56% think it is unlikely (-7).
• Zack Polanski: 15% think it is likely Polanski will be Prime Minister in the future, 69% think it is unlikely.
• Ed Davey: 13% think it is likely Davey will be Prime Minister in the future (-1 from Sept ’25), 71% think it is unlikely (No change).

Party leaders' favourability ratings: 

• Nigel Farage has a net favourability of -27, up from -29 last month. 27% of Britons view him favourably (+2) and 54% unfavourably (N/C)
• 24% of Britons are favourable towards Kemi Badenoch (+2 from Mar ’26), 42% unfavourable (-2), giving her a net score of -18 (+4 from Mar ’26).
• 21% hold a favourable view of Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey (N/C), while 34% are unfavourable (-1 from Mar ’26), giving him a net score of -13 (+1 from Mar ‘26).  
• 24% of Britons are favourable towards Green party leader Zack Polanski (+1 from Mar ’26), 41% unfavourable (+4 from Mar ’26), giving him a net score of -17 (was 14 in Mar ’26).

Labour vs Reform

Despite speculation about the Labour leadership, if given the choice between just the Labour party led by Keir Starmer and Reform UK led by Nigel Farage, Britons would prefer Labour to win the next UK General Election. Four in ten (40%) Britons prefer Labour, while three in ten (31%) prefer Reform. This gives Labour a lead of +9 (+1 from Mar ’26).

Party favourability: 

• Two in ten (20%) are favourable towards the Labour party (+1 from Mar ’26), with 55% unfavourable (-1), giving them a net score of -35, (+1 from last month). 51% also think Labour are doing a bad job at running the country, 16% think they are doing a good job.
• Reform UK has a net rating of -23, up from -28 last month. 27% have a favourable opinion (+2), 50% unfavourable (-3).
• 22% express a favourable view of the Conservative party, with almost half (49%) unfavourable (net -27, up from -32 last month).
• The Green Party’s net rating is -12 (N/C last month. 28% are favourable towards the party, while 40% are unfavourable.
• The Liberal Democrats are at -15. 22% express a favourable view and 37% unfavourable.
• 19% are favourable towards Your Party, while 33% are unfavourable (net -14).
• 19% are favourable towards Restore Britain, while 38% are unfavourable (net -19)

State of the nation:

• Two thirds of Britons think the country is heading in the wrong direction (67%) while 14% think it is heading in the right direction. This gives a net right direction score of -53 (n/c from Mar ’26).
• As the 10th anniversary of the EU Referendum approaches, 52% of Britons think the UK’s decision to leave the European Union has had a negative impact on the country. 19% think it has had a positive impact, 21% think it has made no difference.
• 51% think Labour are doing a bad job at running the country, 16% think they are doing a good job.
• The key issues for the public in deciding how to vote at the next general election are healthcare (61%), inflation/ the cost of living (56%) and immigration (50%).
   

Ipsos Director of Politics Keiran Pedley said of the findings: 

As speculation mounts about Keir Starmer’s future, the way forward for Labour is unclear. 6 in 10 are unfavourable towards him and half think he should stand down. However, sentiment hasn’t really moved since the autumn and it is not obvious who would replace him. Andy Burnham is the standout alternative in terms of public opinion but he is not in parliament. So if there was an immediate contest, there is no strong public sense about who should replace him.

Technical Note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,262 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted online between the 17th – 21st April 2026.
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.