Starmer enjoying ‘honeymoon’ with voters, poll suggests

The new Prime Minister’s favourability ratings have improved since the general election.

Sir Keir Starmer’s favourability ratings have improved since he became Prime Minister (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)

Sir Keir Starmer is experiencing “something of a honeymoon period” with the public, a pollster has found, a week after the election.

Voters’ impressions of the new Prime Minister have improved since his election victory, the survey by Ipsos found, with 40% saying they had a favourable view of Sir Keir.

That figure is six points higher than in the last week of the campaign, while the number saying they had an unfavourable view of Sir Keir has fallen from 41% to 33%.

The poll, carried out immediately after the election on July 5 and 6, is the first time Ipsos has given Sir Keir a net positive approval rating since the brief Liz Truss premiership in October 2022.

There is no time to spare for the incoming Government when it comes to delivering on the public’s key priorities

Ipsos director of politics Keiran Pedley

It also ranks Sir Keir as the most popular of the major politicians about whom Ipsos asked voters, ahead of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, with a 33% favourable rating, and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who both enjoy a 29% favourable rating.

Ipsos director of politics Keiran Pedley said: “These findings suggest something of a honeymoon period for Keir Starmer, with more Britons favourable towards him than before the general election and Britons more likely to expect his Government to change things for the better than worse.”

But he said that the Labour voters who put Sir Keir in Downing Street had “clear expectations of what they want to see delivered”, including more money for public services and improvements to the NHS.

About four in five Labour voters thought it was likely the new Government would improve the NHS in the next year, while about three-quarters expected more spending on public services.

Among people in general, 55% expected Labour to increase spending on public services in the next year, while 57% expected the party to improve the NHS.

Mr Pedley said: “Therefore, there is no time to spare for the incoming Government when it comes to delivering on the public’s key priorities.”