Two Thirds of South West Voters Want Starmer Out If Labour Stumbles

A new poll suggests Sir Keir Starmer’s grip on Downing Street could hinge on what happens at the ballot box next week, with South West residents overwhelmingly saying he should walk if Labour takes a beating.

Research by JL Partners, commissioned by public affairs and corporate communications consultancy Blakeney, found that 65 per cent of people across the South West believe the Prime Minister must resign if Labour performs badly at May’s local elections. Just 14 per cent think he should stay on regardless of the results on 7th May.

No Obvious Successor Waiting

The findings paint an awkward picture for Labour. While voters appear ready to push Sir Keir towards the exit, only 27 per cent think there is anyone in the party’s current ranks who would make a better leader.

That tension was picked up by Blakeney Founder Gabe Winn, who said: “Our polling shows that voters are not only finished with Keir Starmer, but increasingly blaming his Government for the state of their local areas too. That means May 7 will cost him much of the remaining support he has within the party.”

Gabe added: “And, with fewer than one in five voters thinking Labour has anyone good enough to replace Starmer, the Government faces a very different problem to the Conservatives in 2022, when there were well-known, popular names waiting in the wings.

“That leaves the Labour Party trapped between a leader in whom voters have lost faith and a succession question it is nowhere near ready to answer.”

Council Tax Concerns

Local pocketbook issues feature heavily in the polling too. Across the South West, 28 per cent of those surveyed believe Labour would be the party most likely to put up council tax if it ran their local council. Reform UK came second on 16 per cent, with the Conservatives on 10 per cent.

Appetite for Change

The South West also emerged as one of the regions most hungry for a shake up at the local level. Some 44 per cent of respondents said their council needed “major change”, while only 8 per cent wanted things to stay as they are.