Just third of Brits think Keir Starmer will lead Labour into next election

There are doubts Sir Keir Starmer will lead Labour into the next election (Image: Getty)

Scarcely a third of Britons think Sir Keir Starmer will still be Labour leader at the time of the next election. Just over a year since he led Labour to a landslide victory, with the party taking 412 of Westminster’s 650 seats, a majority of Britons now doubt he will be leader when the country goes to the polls.

YouGov found just 32% of Britons think it is “very” or “fairly” likely the Prime Minister will still be in the Labour top job at the next election. In contrast, 53% think it is unlikely. Even among people who voted Labour last year, there are strong doubts Sir Keir will stay in post. Thirty-seven per cent of this group think it is unlikely he will hold onto the position.

This was case for seven out of 10 Conservative voters and 82% of Reform voters.

A Labour MP – speaking on condition of anonymity – said there is widespread expectation among the party’s that Sir Keir will not stand at the next election and there are active discussions about who should succeed him.

“I never thought from day one he was going to stay long,” the MP said. “He’s always given the impression he doesn’t want to be there. I would assume he will step down. I think that is the common belief amongst Labour MPs, that he’s going to go.”

The MP said “forces” were at work to ensure Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner did not stand for the leadership.

The polling comes as Sir Keir has revamped his Downing Street team, appointing Darren Jones – formerly Chief Secretary to the Treasury – as his own Chief Secretary.

Recent YouGov polling found “82% of Britons consider the UK to be in a bad state” – with 36% saying the country is in a “very bad” state. Concerns about the economy heightened this week when long-term borrowing costs hit a 27-year high.

Sir Keir will need to use his upcoming conference speech in Liverpool to assure both party activists and the country he can rise to the challenges facing the UK. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing for the autumn Budget amid warnings she could face a black hole of more than £50billion in the national finances.

Sir Keir Starmer cuts a confident figure on the international stage but faces strong headwinds in UK (Image: Getty)

Dylan Difford of YouGov said: “Most Britons now feel the Prime Minister’s days at the top could be numbered, with just over half (53%) believing it’s unlikely that he will still be Labour leader at the next election. This compares to a third (32%) who see it as likely that Starmer will still be in charge of the party at that point.

While most Labour voters (52%) still expect Starmer to remain in post until at least the next election, 37% see this as unlikely. The belief Starmer is unlikely to still be Labour leader next time Britain goes to the polls is highest among Conservative (70%) and Reform UK voters (82%).”

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