Sir Keir Starmer’s popularity has slumped to a new low in the wake of Labour’s humiliating defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
The latest Opinium survey found the Prime Minister’s net approval rating has dropped five points to -49, which is the lowest level since he took office.
It is also lower than any rating achieved by his Tory predecessors Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson or Theresa May.
Nearly two-thirds of voters (64 per cent) said the disapproved of Sir Keir’s performance, compared to just 15 per cent who approved of the PM.
No major party leader enjoyed a positive rating, but Liberal Democrat leader was the most popular (-5), followed by Green Party leader Zack Polanski (-7), Tory leader Kemi Badenoch (-8) and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage (-13).
There has been fresh speculation about Sir Keir’s future as PM after Labour came third in Gorton and Denton behind the victorious Greens and second-placed Reform.
Labour failed to hang on to the Greater Manchester seat, a former stronghold, despite having won the constituency with more than 50 per cent of the vote at the 2024 general election.
Sir Keir was dealt a fresh blow this weekend when Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons was forced to quit following claims of a ‘smear campaign’ targeting journalists.
Sir Keir Starmer’s popularity has slumped to a new low in the wake of Labour’s humiliating defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election
In a sign that a significant proportion of the electorate are open to voting tactically in their local constituencies, the Opinium survey found nearly half (47 per cent) of Labour voters would consider voting for the Greens at the next general election.
Meanwhile, one in five (21 per cent) of Labour voters said they would consider supporting Reform in the future, and two in five (42 per cent) of Tory voters also said they could back Mr Farage’s party.
By contrast, just under one in ten (9 per cent) of Reform voters said they would consider voting Labour.
If Labour were highly unlikely to win in their local constituency, one in five (21 per cent) of Labour voters said they would switch to the Greens.
A similar proportion (20 per cent) of Green voters said they would switch to Labour if the Greens were unlikely to win in their seat.
James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at Opinium, said: ‘The Gorton and Denton defeat, alongside Keir Starmer’s worst-ever ratings, shows just how shaky Labour’s ground has become.
‘With large swathes of its remaining voters eyeing the Greens, and the Conservatives equally exposed to Reform, the traditional bases of both major parties look more fragile than ever.’
Opinium surveyed 2,050 British adults between 25 to 27 February.
Mr Simons resigned following an investigation into allegations a prominent think tank he ran before entering government paid for a probe into journalists.
Although the probe by Sir Keir’s ethics adviser found Mr Simons had not breached the ministerial code, the Makerfield MP said he had ‘become a distraction from this Government’s important work’.
Mr Simons faced calls to resign after his think tank, Labour Together, was accused of paying PR firm Apco Worldwide £36,000 to investigate the background of journalists who had written stories about it.
In previous statements, Mr Simons said Apco had been hired to investigate an illegal hack.
But in a letter to the PM, ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said the former minister now accepted the terms he agreed with Apco were ‘wider than he had understood’ and he had acted ‘too hastily in confirming their appointment’.
While Sir Laurie said Mr Simons had acted ‘in good faith’, he said the MP acknowledged the ‘perceived gap between his public statements and what he now accepts appears to be a more extensive scope has been damaging’.
