Majority Of Brits Support New General Election If PM Ousted

More than half of Britons think there should be a general election if Keir Starmer is kicked out of office, according to a new poll.

YouGov found 53% of 4,871 respondents want to go to the ballot box again if the prime minister is ousted from 10 Downing Street, compared to just 27% who do not want there to be another election.

The pollsters found 35% of voters who backed Labour in 2024 agreed that there should be an election, though a larger proportion (49%) said there should not be a return to the polls.

The findings come amid growing speculation that the prime minister will face a leadership challenge if Labour does as poorly as expected in the May elections.

With almost 5,000 council seats in England up for grabs, along with the devolved parliaments in Wales and Scotland, pollsters are expecting voters to punish the government for its turbulent 22 months in power.

The PM’s inner circle fear that angry Labour MPs could sign a letter to Starmer demanding he set out a timetable for his departure from office after a torrid set of results over the weekend.

Allies of senior Labour figures such as health secretary Wes Streeting, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have all suggested they would be ready to replace Starmer, too.

However, HuffPost UK previously reported that the PM is determined to hang onto his job.

A senior government source said: “A team of spads [special advisers] are going in to No.10 on Friday to basically help protect the prime minister from any potential leadership challenges.

“The original plan was for them to be based in Labour HQ, rather than their departments, but the feeling now is it’s better to have them in Downing Street working for the PM.”

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