Voters dub Keir Starmer’s government ‘incompetent’ and ‘dishonest’ in shock new poll

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Voters believe Keir Starmer’s government is “incompetent” and “dishonest”, according to a shock new poll.

They are increasingly turning away from Labour, a new analysis of council by-elections shows, just months before Sir Keir faces his first big electoral test as PM in May, the analysis suggests.

In his new year message, the PM said there was still “so much more” after a difficult first six months in No 10.

The PM said while the work to change the UK had “begun” he knew that for many it was “hard to think about the future when you spend all of your time fighting to get through the week”.

Labour has struggled since its landslide election victory in July, dogged by issues including a “freebies” scandal to the backlash to Rachel Reeves’s Budget.

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Just over half describe the government as “incompetent” and “dishonest”, according to YouGov polling for The Times, while just a quarter say the opposite.

The poll also found that 56 per cent believe the government had been unsuccessful, with only 12 per cent saying Labour has been successful.

As 2025 begins, just 31 per cent declare they are optimistic about 2025, with 37 per cent pessimistic.

On the key challenge of the economy, just 21 per cent say they trust Labour most on the issue, with 24 per cent saying they prefer the Conservatives, the Tories’ first lead since before Liz Truss was in Downing Street.

The NHS is the only major issue topic on which Labour retains a significant lead, 29 per cent say they trust the party most, with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK second on 13 per cent.

A new analysis of recent council seat losses also suggests that Sir Keir leads “the most unpopular incoming government of all time”.

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The review by Lord Hayward, a Tory peer and pollster, found that Labour’s unpopularity had intensified since the Budget.

Labour’s huge election victory led to an unprecedented 176 council byelections as councillors became new MPs. But the party has made a net loss of 27 seats while the Tories are up 24, according to the analysis.

Lord Hayward said the results “confirm what people are seeing in the opinion polls this is the most unpopular incoming government of all time”.

He told The Independent that to turn things around Sir Keir “will have to come up with clear implementation of clear policies.”

“We are seeing that people just don’t know what the commitment is… why are we having plans for the NHS not due (to be published) until March, that is nine months after you come to power,” Lord Hayward said. “And that’s, I think, what is corrosive for them, is the fact that they have plans and consultation documents, rather than policies which are being implemented.”