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After weeks of speculation about the prime minister’s future, Keir Starmer today announced his resignation as Labour leader, laying out the timetable for the appointment of his successor.
Most Britons say it was right for Keir Starmer to resign (62%), while only 19% think he was wrong to do so.
Even among 2024 Labour voters – who voted to put Keir Starmer in Downing Street two years ago – the tendency is likewise to think it is right for him to stand aside (52%) than to remain (28%).
How good a PM do Britons think Keir Starmer was?
Looking back over the past couple of years, the most common conclusion among the public is that Starmer has done either a poor (21%) or terrible job (29%).
A further 28% believe Starmer to have been an ‘average’ prime minister, while 13% brand him ‘good’ but just 2% say he has been ‘great’.
Labour voters are far kinder regarding the PM’s legacy, with only 24% deeming him to have been poor or terrible. Instead the split is more between those who see him as having been good or great (33%) and those who rate him as average (38%).
Do the public think Labour will come to regret ousting Starmer?
At the end of 2023, The Times reported that Tory ministers and MPs were privately expressing their regret at having ousted Boris Johnson as prime minister. This was despite a YouGov survey having found in 2022 that most Britons (57%) were convinced that the Conservatives would remain glad for having removed him, with only 25% expecting that they would end up regretting their decision.
Similarly, Labour MPs in the late 2000s may have similar cause to have questioned whether it was right to replace three-time election winner Tony Blair with his longstanding chancellor Gordon Brown. So do Britons think the party is likely to remain happy with Starmer’s departure?
The public are far less certain that Labour will be glad to be rid of Starmer than with the Tories and Boris Johnson in 2022: 39% think Labour MPs will look back in a few years and be glad Starmer was forced to resign, although still only 26% expect they will come to regret the situation.
Labour voters are divided on whether they think their MPs may come to feel they made a mistake in not backing the PM, with 34% thinking they will, while 31% think they will still be glad that he has gone.
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Photo: Getty