Six in ten say it is unlikely that Starmer can unite Labour under his leadership

New research from Ipsos in the UK suggests deep cynicism across Britain that Prime Minister Keir Starmer can unite the Labour Party, with just three in ten (29%) British adults saying it’s likely they can do so under his leadership.  63% say this is unlikely.

Ipsos’ polling – completed over the weekend (27-30 June) before a final series of policy changes were announced – shows that three in five Britons (63%) don’t have confidence the UK government is running the country properly, competently and seriously – at similar levels to Boris Johnson (65%, July 2022) and Rishi Sunak (62%, February 2023) administrations.

Key findings on welfare reform

• Public aware of welfare shake-up: Seven in ten (71%) Britons say they have seen or heard a great deal or fair amount about the Labour government’s plans to reform the benefits system. Awareness is highest among older adults (80%) and 2024 Labour voters (82%).
• Lack of confidence in Labour's welfare plans: Two in three (65%) Britons say they are not confident that Labour has the right approach to reforming the benefits system. This is before the full extent of the changes in welfare reform policy took place, as fieldwork was 27-30 June. Confidence is particularly low among 2024 Conservative (78%) and Reform UK (79%) voters.
• Concerns over protecting the vulnerable: Over half (55%) of Britons believe Labour’s plans are not focused enough on protecting the most vulnerable in society, while 41% say the plans are not focused enough on supporting people back into the workforce. 30% say the plans don’t focus enough on reducing the amount of government spend on benefits, around the same proportion (32%) who say there has been too much focus.
• Protecting the vulnerable is the top welfare priority: When asked what the government’s main welfare priority should be, Britons are most likely to say (41%) “protecting the vulnerable in society” — ahead of supporting people back into the workforce (31%) or reducing government spend on benefits (20%).

Labour under Starmer

• Starmer's leadership under scrutiny: Only a quarter (25%) believe Keir Starmer is likely to win the next General Election. Over three in five (63%) think he is unlikely to do so.
• Lack of belief Starmer can unite Labour: Just three in ten (29%) Britons say it’s likely that Keir Starmer will unite the Labour Party under his leadership.
• Government credibility in question: Three in five Britons (63%) don’t have confidence the UK government is running the country properly, competently and seriously – at similar levels to Boris Johnson (65%, July 2022) and Rishi Sunak (62%, February 2023) administrations.

Commenting on the findings, Keiran Pedley Director of UK Politics at Ipsos says:

“Labour rows over welfare reform haven’t just harmed the public’s view on whether they can make the right changes in that policy area, they are raising wider questions about their ability to govern too. The public is starting to doubt Labor’s ability to govern competently and seriously at the same levels they did with Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s governments. Labour will hope that this government doesn’t end up going the same way”.

Technical note:

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,080 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain. Polling was conducted online between the 27 and 30 June 2025.   
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.