UK public dissatisfied with politicians and pessimistic about future – poll
The proportion of people saying the UK was heading in the wrong direction has fallen to the same level as just before the election.
The British public is dissatisfied with the direction of the country, negative towards politicians and pessimistic about Labour’s ability to accomplish its missions, a pollster has found.
A survey by Ipsos UK found confidence in the direction of the UK had fallen back to almost the same level as before the election, with 62% saying the country was heading in the wrong direction.
Satisfaction with both Labour and the Prime Minister had fallen sharply since July 4, with 50% saying they had an unfavourable view of the party and 52% saying the same about Sir Keir Starmer.
But there is little positivity about his opponents either.
Just 16% have a positive view of Kemi Badenoch, less than the 25% who have a positive view of Sir Keir, while 46% have a negative view of the Tory leader.
Although 41% of people said they thought Nigel Farage understood the problems facing Britain, some 51% said they viewed the Reform UK leader unfavourably – almost twice the 26% who view him favourably.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey had the lowest unfavourable rating, but at 27% it was still higher than the 25% of the public who viewed him favourably.
Gideon Skinner, director of UK politics at Ipsos, said the poll revealed “a complex and challenging political landscape”.
He said: “Public sentiment towards the Government and leading political figures remains largely negative, marked by widespread dissatisfaction about the direction of the country.
“Interestingly, Nigel Farage stands out as the party leader with the most distinct brand in terms of understanding the problems facing Britain, projecting strength and having a strong personality.
“Though it should be noted the public are roughly twice as likely to have a negative opinion of him as positive too.”
But if the public is negative about politicians, it is equally pessimistic about Labour’s ability to improve things in the UK.
A separate survey found that, six months after coming to power, only around a fifth of people thought Labour was doing a good job on delivering its five key missions.
The missions – growing the economy, making Britain a clean energy superpower, building an NHS fit for the future, cracking down on crime and breaking down barriers to opportunity – form the cornerstone of the party’s plans in office.
The third mission, improving the performance of the NHS, remains the public’s focus, with two-thirds of people mentioning it as one of their main priorities – well above boosting growth in second place on 40%.
But even in the longer term, only around a quarter of the public said they expected the Government to do a good job on delivering any of the missions by the next general election, with around 40% saying they expected Labour would do a bad job.
Mr Skinner added: “The continuing pessimism surrounding Labour’s ability to accomplish its five missions will be deeply concerning for the Government.
“While the public continues to see the NHS as a top priority, there’s a pervasive doubt about Labour’s ability to deliver on their key missions, not just now, but also looking ahead to the next election.
“The data suggests a stubborn disconnect between public priorities and perceived Government performance, a gap Labour must bridge to regain public trust.”
Data on the favourability of politicians and the direction of the country came from an online survey of 1,139 British adults between January 10 and 13.
Data on expectations for Labour’s missions came from an online survey of 1,084 British adults between January 17 and 20.
