𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Britons have given a scathing verdict on Labour’s record on priorities including tackling the small boats crisis and raising living standards. Exclusive polling shows six out of 10 people (58%) think Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has done a “bad job” in these key areas.

Just 16% of people told pollsters Ipsos Labour had done a “good job” in bringing down the number of small boat crossings and “restoring order to the asylum system”.

The findings will hike pressure on the Government to take bold action to show it has not lost control of the country’s borders. Sir Keir has replaced Yvette Cooper as Home Secretary with former Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood in the wake of more than 52,000 people coming to the UK on small boats since Labour took power last year.

More than half of respondents (55%) said the Government was performing badly when it came to reducing net migration. A mere 17% of people think Sir Keir’s team is doing a good job of “raising living standards in every part of the UK”.

Just as few people give the thumbs-up on Labour’s efforts to cut energy bills – with 55% saying it is doing a bad job. Nearly as many (54%) said the Government was doing badly when it came to “delivering economic stability to keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible”.

The grim findings show Britons have become less optimistic about the Government’s chances of delivering on its goals. Fifty-nine per cent says it is unlikely it will succeed in raising living standards across the country, while 57% doubt it will either reduce small boat crossings or net migration.

There is more optimism the Government will succeed in strengthening Britain’s armed forces (30%) – although 38% think this is unlikely.

While nearly one in four people (23%) expect the Government will succeed in cutting NHS waiting times with 40,000 more appointments every week, 52% think it will fail to achieve this.

Cutting NHS waiting times was the public’s top priority (56%) among the Government’s goals, followed by cutting energy bills and boosting home energy security (53%).

As recently reported, there is deep pessimism about the prospects for the economy. Seventy-one per cent think it will get worse in the next 12 months, with a mere 11% thinking it will improve.

Gideon Skinner of Ipsos said: “The public has a very clear and consistent set of priorities, centred on the cost of living, the economy and the state of the NHS – alongside concerns about small boats crossings. Yet these are areas where they are not only giving the Government poor marks for its current performance but are also pessimistic about its chances of long-term success.”