Public sees little progress on Labour’s milestones, according to new Ipsos poll

New Ipsos in the UK polling about the milestones and priorities set out by the government reveals that large proportions of the public have not noticed much progress on any of the government’s milestones since the July 2024 election.

Cutting NHS waiting times most important priority to the public

• When asked what targets the government has set itself are most important to them, cutting NHS waiting times has emerged as the most important priority for the public (54%), followed closely by cutting energy bills (49%) and ensuring timely NHS elective treatment (48%).
• There is some variation according to party affiliation. Priorities related to the NHS/healthcare and raising living standards are most important to Labour and Liberal Democrat voters, whereas the main priority for Conservative and Reform UK voters is reducing the number of small boat crossings.

Government performance

• Perceptions if the government’s performance on most milestones and priorities has decreased since March. 
• Around three in five (58%) think that the government is doing a bad job at raising living standards in every part of the UK. Dissatisfaction is also high around reducing small boat crossings (56% bad job), reducing net migration (54% bad job), and cutting energy bills (56% bad job). 
• Performance is lowest on issues that are most important to the public: living standards, (net -43), reducing small boat crossings (net -41) and energy bills (net -38).

• While Labour voters are broadly more optimistic about the government's performance, they still only think that Labour are doing a net good job on seven of the priorities we have tested. They express the most concern over progress on reducing the number of small boat crossings (net good job -21%) and raising living standards (net -15%), with raising living standards being a key priority for one in two Labour voters (53%) . 
• Reform UK voters are particularly critical of the government, especially on issues like reducing net migration (net good job -77%) reducing small boat crossings (net -75%), and delivering economic stability (net -72%).

Signs of progress?

• Large proportions of the public say they have not noticed much progress being made on any of the government’s milestones and priorities since they came to power in July 2024. Seven in ten say that they have not seen much progress made on raising living standards (71%) or reducing energy bills (70%). Slightly more have noticed progress being made on cutting NHS waiting times, though still only one in four (25%) say they have noticed progress, with over half (58%) saying they have not seen much or any progress.  A quarter, 24%, also say they have noticed some progress on strengthening Britain’s armed forces and national security.

Commenting on the findings, Gideon Skinner, Senior Director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said:

Our latest poll reveals that the government is still struggling to cut through to the public and demonstrate tangible results on their stated priorities. This is particularly evident around key issues for the public such as the cost of living, energy bills, and reducing the number of small boat crossings. There is slightly more recognition of progress on NHS waiting lists and defence, although still very much only a minority.  With the spending review fast approaching, Labour will need to convince voters that their government is not just taking painful decisions but is going to deliver real progress on the priorities that matter to them.

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,084 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain. Polling was conducted online between the 16th -20th May 2025.
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.