British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has seen his approval ratings plunge by 16 points in the past two weeks amid criticism of his handling of widespread anti-mass migration uprisings and the decision by his government to implement major cuts to winter fuel benefits.
Just one month after sweeping to power in last month’s general election, it appears that the honeymoon is over for Sir Keir Starmer.
According to the latest survey from Opinium, the left-wing leader has seen his net approval rating fall to just 3 per cent, down from 19 per cent two weeks ago, representing a decline of 16 points in a fortnight.
The sharp decline comes as the Labour Party prime minister has faced criticism from all sides of the political divide over his handling of an outbreak of political unrest following the mass stabbing at a children’s dance party in Southport earlier this week, in which a Rwandan-heritage teen allegedly killed three young British girls and injured eight others.
Riots and mass protests have broken out over the country, including dozens of cities on Saturday, and further actions planned for Sunday. While Starmer has vowed that “far-right” rioters and anti-mass migration “extremists” will face the full force of the law, there have been no signs that the anger within the country will subside anytime soon.
The lack of a honeymoon period for Starmer also underlines the deep divisions within the country. While his Labour Party had one of its largest electoral victories last month, picking up over 200 seats in the House of Commons, the party did so on the back of just 33.7 per cent of the vote.
Starmer’s government has also faced backlash for suggesting that more tax hikes are likely coming down the pike in the autumn and for the decision by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to make hefty cuts to winter fuel subsidies for pensioners amid the energy crisis.
While the public backed some of the measures announced by Reeves to cut unnecessary spending projects and to increase the pay of public sector workers, the Chancellor has also seen her approval rating collapse over the past two weeks.
According to Opinium, the net approval rating for Reeves has fallen to negative 12 per cent, a decline by a staggering 23 per cent in just the past two weeks.
Opinium’s James Crouch told The Telegraph: “Keir Starmer’s post-election honeymoon period appears to be waning, with his approval ratings falling, although still remaining positive overall.
“Most of the policy announcements Rachel Reeves has spoken about this week to plug the hole in public finances have been viewed as the right decision, and there is public support to raise public sector pay.
“However, scrapping universal winter fuel payments has not been a popular decision, and appears to have contributed to the Chancellor’s plummet in approval ratings.”
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