Shocking trade union poll is terrible news for Starmer’s Labour

A new poll has shown Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is rapidly losing the support of trade unionists. And it seems to be the billionaire-backed Thatcherites and ex-Tories of Reform who are making the most of Labour’s collapse.

Trade unionists overwhelmingly say ‘Labour has lost touch’

Right-wing pollster JL Partners, whose co-founders have deep roots in the Conservative Party, asked 1,002 trade union members about political parties and leaders. And although 48% of the members who’d voted in the 2024 general election said they’d opted for Labour, only 28% said they would do the same today.

Reform, meanwhile, went up from 16% in 2024 to 28% now, despite the party wanting to take a hammer to workers’ rights.

The other winner in the poll was the Green Party, going up from 5% to 12%.

Inside the three biggest unions, which continue to affiliate to Starmer’s Labour:

• Unison members moved from 50% supporting Labour in 2024 to just 28% doing so now. Reform rose from 15% to 25%, and the Greens from 8% to 16%.
• Unite members went from 47% for Labour to 30%. Reform jumped from 20% to 36%, and the Greens only had a slight rise from 3% to 8%.
• GMB members’ backing for Labour dropped from 43% to 22%, with Reform going from 20% to 31% and the Greens only going from 5% to 9%. 50% of GMB members wanted disaffiliation from Labour.

Among the members of these three unions, there seemed to be significant openness particularly inside Unite and the GMB to backing Reform. Having to choose among major parties, they would both mostly opt to affiliate with Reform. That matters for Labour, because both unions donate massive amounts to the party.

If Unison members had to choose to affiliate to any major party, however, they would choose the Green Party (23%) over Labour (22%) and Reform (17%). The University and College Union (UCU) would do the same, with 30% opting for the Greens, 22% for Labour, and only 9% for Reform.

One thing is overwhelmingly clear from the poll, though. The vast majority of members in most unions agree that:

The Labour Party has lost touch with working people

Among all respondents, 62% agreed with that statement, and only 30% disagreed. 58%, meanwhile, believed Starmer needed to step down as prime minister.

Union members want Starmer out, but are unclear on what should follow

The Green Party under Zack Polanski has sought to position itself as the main left-wing challenger to Labour’s domination in the trade union movement, partly by calling Labour out for watering down its workers’ rights package. But the JL Partners poll suggests the Greens need to do a lot more work to convince trade unionists.

The poll respondents firmly believed Reform “represents working people” better than the Greens. Even among sympathetic unions, the Greens trailed Reform by at least 10%. The highest Green score came from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), whose members gave Greens 20% and Reform 33%.

The dodgy billionaire money behind Reform is tough to beat. But the Greens and other left-wingers looking to convince trade unionists also need to be clear about why they are much better on workers’ rights than Reform. Trade unionists have already called on Greens, for example, to commit to opposing austerity cuts.

What is obvious, meanwhile, is that trade unionists oppose Keir Starmer and the direction his gang has taken the Labour Party in. They agree on how disastrous his government has been, and have an overwhelmingly negative view of him. What they don’t have is a strong positive view of any other party leader.

In short, this poll is terrible news for Starmer’s Labour. But it also serves as a warning for the left. Because unless we get our act together, Reform has more than enough money to keep benefiting from Labour’s collapse.

Featured image via Getty/Gareth Fuller

By Ed Sykes

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