Is the UK moving in the wrong direction? Bad news for Keir as 52 per cent of Brits agree

Some 52 per cent of Brits think the UK is heading in the wrong direction, according to a new poll following the general election.

Pollsters at Ipsos found 22 per cent of people thought the situation in Britain was going in the right direction – down three points from a survey the previous month.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer faced a week of violent riots in his first month as Prime Minister, as his government battles to end the ongoing public sector strikes which have affected trains and hospitals.

While 19 per cent said neither, and the ‘wrong direction’ figure was also up by three points, giving a net direction rating for the country of -30, down from -24 last month.

Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said while the government was still enjoying a “moderate honeymoon period… just as important for their longer-term prospects is the level of pessimism around the state of the country”.

He added: “This is not as bad as it was under the Conservatives, but half of Britons still think things are going in the wrong direction.

“Delivering on the public’s desire for improvements will be key when the honeymoon period ends.”

The survey, titled the August 2024 Ipsos Political Pulse, found ratings for the Labour Party and individual politicians fell slightly in their second month in government.

Taken between August 9 and 12, the poll found Sir Keir’s rating had dropped to zero from the plus seven he scored immediately after the July 4 election victory.

And 38 per cent of those surveyed had a favourable view of him, with another 38 per cent holding an unfavourable one, which is up by five points on the July poll.

In comparison, Rishi Sunak scored -10 in his second month as Prime Minister, in November 2022, and Boris Johnson was on minus eight at the equivalent point in his premiership.

However, 40 per cent said they were favourable towards the Labour Party, compared to 37 per cent who said they were unfavourable.

While 58 per cent of respondents said they were unfavourable towards Sunak, and 57 per cent said they were unfavourable towards the Conservative Party.

Skinner added: “The public feel somewhat more positively towards [Labour] then they did before the election was called – they are more popular than their main opponents.

“But Labour’s ratings are not impregnable… there are signs of a small increase in public criticism of Labour, the Prime Minister and other key cabinet ministers this month.”