Voters are abandoning the Labour Government because three in four feel it has little or no respect for them, according to major new research. Just three in 10 people think Labour respects citizens who work hard, compared to 43% who say the same about Reform UK. The study by University College London’s “policy lab” and More in Common found two in three say the cost of living is one of the most important issues facing the country. But just three in 10 say Sir Keir Starmer is prioritising it. While 28% say Labour respects people who love their country, 54% say they do not.
The groups people are most likely to think Labour respects are the rich (58%), asylum seekers (50%), immigrants (48%) and big businesses (47%). The main reason Britons feel the Government shows a lack of respect is that they believe politicians are self-serving and fail to represent ordinary people.
42% say the Government does not respect them because its members look after their own interests rather than those of people like them.
Marc Stears, director of UCL’s policy lab, said: “The gap between the governed and the governing has been growing for decades now, and this new polling suggests it is continuing to widen. Just under two years ago, millions of people hoped the election of a Labour government would turn things around, and as we have seen overnight, many of them are clearly disappointed with what has followed. “The challenge facing the Government now could not be starker: convince the public that it understands and appreciates the challenges they face or risk being replaced by more extreme forces on both the Left and the Right.”
Luke Tryl, director of More in Common, commented on the research showing a mere 19% of people felt the government respected them “quite a lot” or “very much”, warning: “Voter anger is driven by a sense of ‘disrespect’ from a government that is self-serving and doesn’t represent ordinary people”.
Sir Keir’s Government is now seen as more chaotic than the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak. Half describe the present Labour Government as “chaotic”, and only 26% say the same about the last Tory administration.
The polling found many people think Reform does not respect immigrants (68%), asylum seekers (64%), trans people (61%) and ethnic minorities (60%).
The Green party is seen as most likely not to respect the Conservative Party (53%), big businesses (49%), the rich (46%) and business owners (45%).
Kevin Hollinrake MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “Keir Starmer entered office without a plan because he does not stand for anything.. They took the wrong decisions, whether taxing jobs, cutting Winter Fuel Payments and letting criminals out of prison early. Voters are right to feel disrespected, Labour made promises it had no intention of keeping.”