Boris Johnson poll lead is down to ‘vaccine bounce’ says Keir Starmer

But Labour leader says it was ‘unrealistic’ to expect him to turn around poor election result in a year

Keir Starmer has his temperature checked during a visit to Sydney Russell School, Dagenham, where teachers and students are returning to the classroom (Getty Images)

Boris Johnson's widening lead over the Labour party in the polls is down to a "vaccine bounce" boosting support for the Tories, Keir Starmer has said.

In a rare comment on the polls the opposition leader said his party was behind because voters tended to "gravitate" towards the government during a time of crisis and felt good after getting their jabs.

Sir Keir's analysis comes amid sliding leadership ratings and a growing lead for the Tories, despite the UK having one of the worst death and economic tolls in the world from Covid-19.

"There is undoubtedly a vaccine bounce going on," the Labour leader told BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show on Monday afternoon.

"The vaccine rollout is going very well, all tribute to those on the ground. I've been in vaccine centre a number of times, including this morning and the NHS, those on the front line doing an incredible job.

"And of course, you can feel it: you go into the vaccine centre with anxiety written over your face, and then you see people coming out the other end with a smile, it is an incredible feeling and of course that leads to a bounce I think at the polls."

He added: "I also think in a pandemic, something like this, people tend to gravitate, to pull towards their government because they want the government to get it right because they themselves and their family depend on it. So, there are factors there, but let's be honest, we've got to do better as a Labour Party I've got to do better, we've got a job and a half to do."

Sir Keir told the programme that he "never thought for a moment" that Labour could reverse its bad election result from 2019 in the space of a year, suggesting the idea was "unrealistic".

At that election Labour won the lowest number of seats on record since 1935, though its share of the vote was higher than in 2010 and 2015. The 2019 result, at an election dominated by Brexit, came after a surprise strong showing in 2017 where the party won 40 per cent of the vote, overturning Theresa May’s majority.

Admitting it was a "big ask" to win the election scheduled for 2024, Sir Keir added: "I'm determined we could do it. I think we can do it. I think we've got to rebuild the party, deal with antisemitism – we've done some of that, we've got to do more on that – rebuild trust with voters, and be much more connected with voters."

"It is going to take every day, every week, every month and every year to the next general election to do it. I'm going to sweat blood to do that, but I never thought that we could turn around."

Critics of Sir Keir say he has failed to outline a vision, while he defenders say it is difficult to do so during a time of crisis.

Labour had pulled broadly level with the Conservatives by around December last year after steady increases in support, according to polling averages, but has lost ground since around Christmas.

The latest YouGov poll released last week had the Conservatives on 45 per cent, up four per cent on the last poll, and Labour on 32 per cent, down four per cent on the last poll. The Greens and Lib Dems were on seven per cent and six per cent each.

The latest poll by Survation had the Tories on 42 per cent and Labour on 34 per cent, with the Lib Dems and 7 per cent and Greens on 6 per cent.