Floundering Keir Starmer is pleading with Labour to keep the faith today as he kicks off a tumultuous conference.
The PM insisted he can ‘pull this round’ as another poll showed the party on track for disaster – with Reform poised to win a huge majority.
In findings that will spread alarm among activists in Liverpool, the More in Common research estimated that Nigel Farage‘s insurgents would scoop 373 seats if an election were held now. Labour would be reduced to just 90 MPs, from nearly 400 currently.
Meanwhile, separate polling by Ipsos Mori has put Sir Keir’s personal ratings at the lowest level any PM since comparable records began in 1977.
The premier has now outstripped the minus 59 net score reached by both Rishi Sunak and John Major – plunging to a dire minus 66.
However, Sir Keir told The Sunday Times: ‘I think we can pull this round.’
Floundering Keir Starmer is pleading with Labour to keep the faith today as he kicks off a tumultuous conference
In findings that will spread alarm among activists in Liverpool, More in Common research estimated that Nigel Farage’s insurgents would scoop 373 seats if an election were held now
Meanwhile, separate polling by Ipsos Mori has put Sir Keir’s personal ratings at the lowest level any PM since comparable records began in 1977
Amid frenzied speculation that Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham could seek a return to Westminster to oust him, Sir Keir warned about ‘navel-gazing’.
‘It is the fight of our times and we’ve all got to be in it together,’ he said.
‘We don’t have time for introspection, we don’t have time for navel-gazing.
‘You’ll always get a bit of that at a Labour Party conference, but that is not going to solve the problems that face this country.’
More in Common used a poll of 20,000 Brits with the so-called MRP technique – which maps characteristics of voters to produce estimated results in every constituency.
It found Mr Farage could enter No 10 with a majority of 96, while Labour would be reduced to just 90 seats and the Tories pushed into fourth place behind the Liberal Democrats.
Labour would be left clinging on predominantly in urban centres such as London, and university towns.
The MRP model was based on surveys carried out between August 8 and September 15.
The results were even more dramatic than similar YouGov research last week, which found Reform would be the largest party but just short of a majority.
Separate polling by More In Common on Labour’s record in Government suggests Sir Keir’s decision to focus his attack on Mr Farage was not cutting through with voters.
Some 62 per cent of voters believe Labour should concentrate on its own plans for Government, compared with 20 per cent who believe they should scrutinise Reform more.
The poll also found Labour’s failures – including the recent exits of Angela Rayner and Lord Mandelson – have had more cut-through with the public than the party’s successes in Government.
Sir Keir hopes that demonstrating his Government can deliver on its promises, such as unleashing a wave of housebuilding, will stem the flow of voters to Reform.
The construction of three new towns will begin before the next election, the Housing Secretary Steve Reed will pledge.
They are likely to be Tempsford in Bedfordshire, Leeds South Bank, and Crews Hill, north London.
Plans for a total of 12 new towns will be taken forward, but those three are the ‘most promising sites’ for early work.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged that if Labour fails to secure the borders ‘there will be more division in our country’.
She promised reforms to migration law, with tougher rules for people who are entitled to be in the UK.
She told the Sun on Sunday she wanted to tighten rules around claiming indefinite leave to remain, the status which grants legal migrants the ability to settle in the UK without the need to renew a visa every few years.
Ms Mahmood added: ‘We need legal migration, it is a good thing. We are a country that has always welcomed people who want to come and work here.
‘But I think in addition to living and working here there is a bigger thing to do as well which is to make sure that people are making a contribution to their wider community and wider society.’
She went on to say that ministers are looking at how to make sure indefinite leave to remain ‘is linked not just to the job you are doing’, but also ‘the wider contribution you are making to our communities’.
Sir Keir arrived at party conference with wife Victoria yesterday
The Home Secretary also promised reforms to human rights laws by Christmas to make it easier for her to deport illegal migrants.
The European Convention on Human Rights and other treaties have been ‘used in a way that was never intended’, Ms Mahmood said
Securing the border is ‘fundamental to holding the country together’, she said.
‘I know if I’m not able to get this mess sorted out, then there will be more division in our country.
‘The far right is on the rise. I think that’s a dangerous moment for the country.’
