A FRESH poll has showed voters think the UK Labour Government are “incompetent” and “dishonest”.
In a YouGov survey for The Times, just over half described the Government using these words while just a quarter said the opposite.
The poll also found that 56% believe the Government has been unsuccessful, with only 12% saying Labour have been successful.
As 2025 begins, just 31% say they are optimistic about the year ahead, with 37% pessimistic.
On the economy, just 21% say they trust Labour most on the issue, with 24% saying they prefer the Conservatives.
Fresh analysis of recent council seat losses also suggests that Keir Starmer leads "the most unpopular incoming government of all time".
The review by Lord Hayward, a Tory peer and pollster, found that Labour’s unpopularity had intensified since the Budget.
Labour’s landslide election victory led to an unprecedented 176 council by-elections as councillors became new MPs, but the party has made a net loss of 27 seats while the Tories are up 24, according to the analysis.
In October, Scottish Labour blamed some by-election losses on the decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment after losing two seats on Dundee City Council.
He said the fact Labour do not have policies being implemented is “corrosive” for them.
“We are seeing that people just don’t know what the commitment is… why are we having plans for the NHS not due (to be published) until March, that is nine months after you come to power,” Lord Hayward told The Independent.
“And that’s, I think, what is corrosive for them, is the fact that they have plans and consultation documents, rather than policies which are being implemented.”
At the turn of the year, Starmer has been slammed as a second increase to Ofgem’s price cap this winter is set to take effect next week despite Labour’s repeated pledges to bring down energy bills.
This latest poll comes after a Find Out Now survey in December found 26% of people said they would back Starmer’s party in a General Election, compared to 25% who would back Reform.
It also looks as if Labour may struggle to build on their Westminster success north of the Border after a poll commissioned by The National found the SNP remained on course to be the dominant party in Scotland at the 2026 Holyrood election.
In his new year message, the PM said there was still “so much more” after a difficult first six months in charge.
But Starmer has a tough task ahead to convince people he is worth believing in, as a poll in November suggested Reform leader Nigel Farage is more popular than him and other UK political leaders.
According to an Ipsos poll carried out between November 8 and 11, the Reform UK leader had the highest favourability rating (28%) in a survey which included Starmer, LibDem leader Ed Davey, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Green Party co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay.
Just 23% regarded Starmer favourably – down 3% from October – while more than half said they didn’t like him as a politician, leaving his net favourability at -29.
