Fresh polling sees Labour stuck in the high teens, Sir Keir Starmer deeply unpopular with voters, and a growing debate over whether he can lead the party into the next election.
00:00Sir Keir Starmer is under fresh pressure as the polls worsen.
00:05A recent YouGov voting intention poll for The Times put the Labour Party on 17%,
00:11behind reform on 26% and the Conservatives on 19%.
00:17Whether Keir Starmer will be Prime Minister come the next election,
00:21which I still think is likely to be 2029,
00:24because why would this government call an election?
00:26Because, of course, they know that they're going to be routed.
00:30And indeed, given that we're talking, what, another three years, three and a half,
00:34potentially, if they really sort of string it out to the end,
00:37because, of course, they have to sort of have an election
00:40by the end of the five-year period under the current rules,
00:44unless they do something very Trumpian
00:46and decide they're going to call off the general election, which I don't see,
00:51albeit there is a lot of concern about local elections,
00:54although there are different reasons for that.
00:55But, of course, Keir Starmer is being accused of cowardice
00:58and not being willing to face the public,
01:00because in the local elections that do take place,
01:02we expect Labour to get something of a kicking and reform to do very well.
01:07On approvals, a recent YouGov measure reported net government approval at minus 59,
01:14with just 11% approving and a massive 70% disapproving.
01:19Against that backdrop, there are growing calls in Westminster for Starmer to be replaced
01:26with renewed leadership speculation and senior figures urging Labour not to panic,
01:33but to reconnect with voters.
01:35It's also worth noting that YouGov also found 51% of the public
01:40wanted him to stand down as Labour leader in a previous national survey.
01:46There is a general sense of disillusionment, which, of course, is very, very palpable.
01:52But in terms of Keir Starmer, he is not a charismatic politician.
01:55And, indeed, if we go to Trump, again, look at what Trump is.
02:02An avowed populist, somebody who is doing things which would have been sort of regarded as hitherto
02:08ridiculous and impossible.
02:11But, of course, and I don't need to list those.
02:13But what you have there, and we had it in to some extent with Boris Johnson,
02:19someone who exudes sort of that sort of sense that things will get better.
02:23And people do warns that sort of things are bad, but we're going to get through it.
02:29And Keir Starmer doesn't have that ability.
02:31I think it comes from his background as a sort of, you know, he was head of the director for,
02:36well, indeed, he was the director of public prosecutions.
02:40And so, therefore, of course, he has a very legal brain,
02:42which means that he doesn't tend to sort of to give us the sort of the BS factor.
02:48He tells it like it is.
02:49And I think he finds it very difficult to do the sort of to verge into what you might
02:55regard as populist territory.
02:56I heard somebody in the phone and say, why couldn't he be a bit more like Hugh Grant
03:01in sort of Love Actually?
03:04You know, of course, he called out the American prime minister and was popular for it.
03:08But, hey, royal politic, it means that you have to sort of do things,
03:11which, of course, you don't find yourself being particularly sort of comfortable with.
03:14So, all in all, Keir Starmer has a sort of a difficult sort of few months ahead of him,
03:20a difficult few years.
03:22And I think that the expression bunker mentality is probably true,
03:26that you just carry on in the hope that things get better.
03:30Indeed, we sort of saw that with the last Conservative government,
03:33although Rishi's sort of called an election,
03:36and people believe that maybe he should have sort of stuck on,
03:38if only for the fact he would have sort of given another sort of number of months in power.
03:42But, hey, bunker mentality is all very well.
03:45I think there's also a sort of view that when you're in a hole, stop digging.
03:49But the difficulty is, how do you get out of the hole?
03:52And there is no doubt that sort of the opinion poll suggests
03:54that sort of the Labour Party is in something of a very deep hole at the moment.
03:58To improve his rating, Starmer may need to define Labour's priorities more sharply,
04:03communicate with greater confidence,
04:06and show clearer conviction while balancing unity in the party
04:09with a stronger sense of purpose that resonates beyond Westminster.
04:13Starmer may need to know that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt that there is no doubt
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