Sir Keir Starmer admits 2025 will be a ‘year of rebuilding’ and many in Britain find it ‘hard to think about the future’ as poll shows Labour slipping in polls_Nhy
Sir Keir Starmer has used his new year message to vow to ‘change Britain for the better’ – despite the threat posed by his political rivals as they jostle for position while looking to 2025 as a chance to capitalise on his dwindling popularity.
The Prime Minister hailed 2024 as a ‘year of change’ – joking that this did not extend to the England men’s football team’s international track record.
Sir Keir’s own track record is arguably more troubled – with ongoing polling suggesting voters view him as ‘untrustworthy’, ‘dislikable’, ‘weak’ and ‘indecisive’.
However, a slim majority of Brits believe he should stay on as PM into the new year – as leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch warned that voters should ‘watch this space’ for a re-energised Conservative Party under her watch.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage lurks in the wings, hoping to use May’s council elections to flex Reform UK’s growing strength after the party claimed to have overtaken the Tories in terms of membership numbers.
Sir Keir’s message, shared on social media and filmed at Downing Street, said: ‘I know there is still so much more to do and that, for many people, it’s hard to think about the future when you spend all of your time fighting to get through the week.
‘So, I want to be clear: until you can look forward and believe in the promise and the prosperity of Britain again, then this Government will fight for you.
‘A fight for change that will define this year, next year and, indeed, every waking hour of this Government.’
Sir Keir Starmer has used his new year message to pledge to ‘rebuild’ Britain – but faces the challenge of winning the trust of British voters
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch used her New Year message to warn that the Tories would stage a fightback in 2025
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is looking ahead to May’s council elections as a chance to prove the party’s growing strength
He said the Government had a ‘clear plan for change’, including building 1.5million new homes, cutting waiting lists and reducing immigration.
Sir Keir added: ‘That is what we will be focusing on. A year of rebuilding, but also rediscovering the great nation that we are.
‘A nation that gets things done. No matter how hard or tough the circumstances.’
However, ongoing polling conducted by YouGov suggests the Prime Minister has a fight on his hands to win over voters after a contentious first six months in Government.
Labour’s track record for 2024 saw prisoners freed early, riots unfold in the streets following the Southport attack and the PM himself come under fire amid the ‘passes for glasses’ scandal that saw key donor Lord Alli given a Downing Street pass despite not having any formal role in Government.
Since being elected, the public’s view of Sir Keir’s trustworthiness, likeability, competence, general strength and performance as PM has dimmed.
Around 58 per cent of Brits say he is untrustworthy compared to 20 per cent who say they can trust him; similar figures are reported for his likeability, while just over half of adults say he is incompetent against 30 per cent who say he is capable of the job.
And asked how he is doing as Prime Minister, 61 per cent say he is doing ‘badly’ while 26 per cent say he is doing ‘well’. Just over 40 per cent say he should stay in the job, however, against 31 per cent who say he should go.
Sir Keir Starmer pictured kissing his wife Victoria after winning the election in July. Labour’s popularity has dwindled since he became Prime Minister
May’s council elections will be Labour’s first test of its popularity with voters. The party has already made a net loss in the by-elections that followed July’s general election
Further polling conducted by YouGov for The Times suggests fewer voters feel optimistic about the year ahead than those who feel a degree of pessimism, while 29 per cent say they had expected Labour to do better in their first six months.
And separate analysis of the spate of council by-elections prompted by the election of local councillors as MPs suggests Labour is one of the most unpopular new governments in British political history.
A review of by-elections held since July by Lord Hayward, the Conservative peer and pollster, suggested Labour’s unpopularity had intensified.
Following the unprecedented 176 local by-elections, Labour has made a net loss of 27 seats while the Tories are up 24 overall.
Hayward said the results ‘confirm what people are seeing in the opinion polls — this is the most unpopular incoming government of all time’.
Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch used her message to discuss her own party’s ‘period of change’, as she warned Conservative supporters that ‘things may be bumpy along the way’.
Ms Badenoch, who became the leader of the Tories in November, said in a short message: ‘Like all of you, I am looking forward to a 2025 that is full of hope, security and prosperity.
‘The Conservative Party is also going through a period of change. This process of renewal will be a long-term project.
‘Things may be bumpy along the way, but the party I now lead is going to do things differently. Watch this space.’
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey criticised his opponents in his video, as the Liberal Democrat leader vowed to ‘continue to hold the Conservative Party to account for the terrible damage they did to our country’.
He said his party ‘made a great start on that in July, and at the local elections this coming May, we have a big opportunity to finish that job’.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey is also looking to the local elections to improve his party’s standing after coming third in the general election
Reform claimed to have overtaken the Conservatives in terms of pure membership figures last month – sparking a war of words with the Tories
Kemi Badenoch accused Reform of faking its membership numbers – invoking Farage’s fury
Looking ahead to May is Reform UK leader and MP for Clacton Nigel Farage after the party finished third in the general election in terms of votes.
It picked up over 14 per cent of all votes ahead of the Liberal Democrats but only won five seats to the Lib Dems’ 72.
Reform claimed last month to have overtaken the Tories in terms of pure membership numbers – a claim that was rejected by Kemi Badenoch, to Farage’s fury.
He has since threatened legal action against the Tory leader. The Financial Times said it had been shown the data underpinning Reform’s claims, which it described as ‘strong evidence’ for the party’s claimed membership tally.
Recording his new year message at Blenheim Palace near Oxford, Mr Farage said: ‘The fish rots from the head down. We’ve been appallingly led in this country now for several decades.
‘We’re in societal decline, we’re in economic decline, most people are getting poorer with every year that passes, we’re losing any sense of national identity and we’re actually teaching kids at school that people like Winston Churchill – born in this palace – are bad people and that our country’s history is something to be ashamed of.’
Turning to his own party’s membership, Mr Farage said ‘tens of thousands of people’ had joined Reform over the Christmas period, adding: ‘There’s a buzz, there’s an energy, there’s an optimism.’
