Keir Starmer has insisted he will be Prime Minister at the next general election – despite nearly half of Labour voters saying he should stand down.
A YouGov survey of 2,100 people found 23 per cent think the party leader should quit now and elect someone else, while a further 22 per cent believe he should give up his role at some point before the next election.
Only a third, 34 per cent, said he should continue to lead the Labour Party into the contest.
Asked if he would stay on, Sir Keir told The Mirror: ‘Yes, I will. Let me be really clear – every minute that’s not spent talking about and dealing with the cost of living is a minute wasted of the political work of this Government.
‘That’s my response to last week. I remain utterly focused on what matters to me most, which is bearing down on the cost of living and making people feel better off.
‘I’m very conscious of the fact that people want to get on in life, they want to progress, they want more money in their pocket to do the things that matter to them.’
A number of Labour MPs are concerned the prime minister is in fact a liability and there is speculation he could face a leadership challenge after local elections in May next year.
The YouGov polling also found 29 per cent of voters say they believed they believed the Conservatives to be more competent than the last government.
Keir Starmer has insisted he will be Prime Minister at the next general election – despite nearly half of Labour voters saying he should stand down
The polling of Labour voters, carried out on November 12 and 13, comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Budget next week where it is feared working families will be more than £1,000 worse off as a result of the party’s looming stealth tax raid
A total of 25 per cent said Labour was more competent than the last government while 29 per cent thought they were both just as bad.
Just over 40 per cent said Rishi Sunak was a better prime minister than Sir Keir, including 14 per cent of those who voted Labour last year.
Over half said Labour was either more or as divided as the Conservatives.
The polling, carried out on November 12 and 13, comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Budget next week where it is feared working families will be more than £1,000 worse off as a result of the party’s looming stealth tax raid.
Ms Reeves’ plan to freeze income tax thresholds for a further two years will cost higher-earning couples as much as £1,300 in tax and National Insurance, analysis has found.
Those dragged into paying the higher rate of tax will then have to pay an extra £900 every single year even if the freeze is ended, according to the Conservatives.
Even retired people could lose £150 over two years, with the full rate of the state pension due to exceed the income tax personal allowance from 2027 onwards.
In a process known as ‘fiscal drag’, more and more workers in jobs such as nursing, policing and teaching will find themselves paying 40 per cent or more tax on their incomes.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been tipped as a potential successor to Sir Keir (file image)
A recent poll from More in Common suggests Reform UK would win 31 per cent of votes were a General Election held today.
Labour and the Conservatives are put at 20 and 19 per cent respectively while the Liberal Democrats and Green Party are respectively on 14 and 12 per cent.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been tipped as a potential successor to Sir Keir – though he is backed by eight per cent of voters, while the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, is supported by 18 per cent of voters overall and 30 per cent of those who voted Labour at the last election.
Meanwhile Net Zero and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Ms Reeves are both backed by four per cent of voters.
