LABOUR’S honeymoon period has shown signs of waning as a survey today reveals the majority of the public thinks Britain is “moving in the wrong direction.”
Ipsos polling conducted between August 9-12 showed a post-general election drop in favourability for Sir Keir Starmer and his Cabinet after far-right rioting gripped the country.
The pollster’s senior director of UK politics, Gideon Skinner, said Labour and Sir Keir are “still enjoying a moderate honeymoon period” with their popularity still higher than the Tories or before the general election was called.
The prime minister’s ratings were also higher than the equivalent figures for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak two months into their premierships.
“But Labour’s ratings are not impregnable (for example, Boris Johnson benefited from a bigger halo effect at the start of the Covid pandemic),” he warned.
“There are signs of a small increase in public criticism of Labour, the Prime Minister and other key Cabinet ministers this month, but just as important for their longer-term prospects is the level of pessimism around the state of the country.
“This is not as bad as it was under the Conservatives, but half of Britons still think things are going in the wrong direction, and delivering on the public’s desire for improvements will be key when the honeymoon period ends.”
A spokeswoman for Momentum said: “Despite some positive moves to raise the wages of some public-sector workers, renationalise the railways, and implement the New Deal for Working People, the Labour government has failed to demonstrate it has the will or ability to meet the key challenges of our time.
“They have not challenged the racism and Islamophobia of the far right, and they have not outlined a programme of economic transformation.
“On the contrary, winter fuel payments have been axed for millions of pensioners and the Chancellor [Rachel Reeves] has indicated a desire to rely on a reheated form of Private Finance Initiative schemes to fund public infrastructure.
“The public has a right to expect Labour to represent the interests of the majority, and if they do not, we can continue to see support for the government wane.”
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: "We've been moving in the wrong direction for so long under the Tories that it's a long road back. People need to see their living standards rising, their public services improving and more good jobs in their communities.
"The Labour government is already turning the corner. It's settling industrial disputes, getting unions and business around the table to work on industrial strategy, and bringing forward an Employment Rights Bill to deliver the New Deal for Working People - all in its first 100 days.
"What matters now is that Labour delivers the New Deal in full, and remains committed to the repair of our public services and investing in industry. That's the sure path to a stronger economy and a better quality of life for us all."
Of those polled, 22 per cent said that they think things in Britain are heading in the right direction, 52 per cent in the wrong direction and 19 per cent neither.
