Kemi Badenoch honeymoon ends as new poll shows farmer protests fail to hurt Starmer

Labour gained a point in the Techne UK weekly tracker poll for The Independent despite the prime minister having yet another difficult week

Kemi Badenoch’s honeymoon appears to have come to an end after the surge in the polls since she was elected as Tory leader came to a halt this week.

According to the Techne UK weekly tracker poll for The Independent, Keir Starmer actually saw a small increase in his lead over the Tories up one to two points despite a difficult week with the “tractor tax” protests by more than 10,000 farmers in London.

Starmer was also criticised for meeting China’s President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Rio just hours before 45 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong were jailed, but that does not appear to have harmed him with the public either.

Labour was up one to 29 per cent, the Tories were unchanged on 27 per cent, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK unchanged on 17 per cent, Lib Dems down one to 12 per cent and Greens unchanged on 7 per cent.

Conservative MPs join farmers at a protest against the inheritance tax policy change (Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)

Ms Badenoch had appeared to be on course to pass Labour and Sir Keir in the polls after making up six per cent in the first two weeks following her victory to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader.

But the halt to the party’s rise comes amiod some disquiet over her strategy by senior MPs from opposite wings of the party who want to see the new leader go more on the front foot over policy.

A former minister from the One Nation left of the Tories said: “It’s been just OK so far. She really needs to start saying what she wants and what she stands for.

“The one thing the leader of the opposition has is the ability to set the agenda with positive ideas.”

Meanwhile, a former minister who had backed rival Robert Jenrick agreed: “Kemi is just being reactive. She is not setting out a positive alternative.

“We have gone through a leadership election where she refused to spell out any policies but now that is over she needs to provide some positive vision.

Sir Keir Starmer has so far declined to say whether the UK has moved to authorise the use of Storm Shadow in Russia (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

“She should consider making a speech or something to start setting the agenda.”

But she was defended by leadership rival Tom Tugendhat speaking to Sophie Ridge on Sky News even though he had declined to serve in her shadow cabinet.

He said: “Kemi is a really, really good friend. She has been for many years. She very kindly asked me if I was looking for a role and I said, Look, if you wouldn’t mind very much, I’d like to have a little bit of time to think and do a few other things and come back to serve in due course. She’s already started extremely well. She’s going to make a great leader of the opposition.”

Michela Morizzo, chief executive of Techne, said: “Our tracker poll this week brings slightly better news for Sir Keir Starmer. Even with the significant farming protests in central London this week his Labour Party, perhaps unexpectedly rise by one point of national vote share to 29 per cent.

“Conversely the bounce that Kemi Badenoch has experienced now new leader of the Conservative Party has somewhat faltered with her party standing still in national vote share at 27 per cent.

“With Reform UK also standing still on 17 per cent of national vote share it does seem as if the main political parties have hit a pre-Christmas ‘stalemate’. Let’s see if in the coming weeks the Conservatives will start rising again or if the effects of the new leader’s election have faided.”