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Keir Starmer 'not worried' by plummeting popularity but admits government needs to 'go further' to spark growth
18 December 2024, 08:02 | Updated: 18 December 2024, 08:42
Keir Starmer has said he is "not worried" by his decline in popularity since becoming PM.
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Speaking on LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Sir Keir said his main priority was delivering "for those people who voted for us in July to change the country for the better".
It comes after a fresh poll found that he was more unpopular after five months in No10 than any other PM since the late 1970s.
The research by Ipsos found that 61 per cent of voters were dissatisfied with Sir Keir's performance while 27 per cent were satisfied, making his net satisfaction score -34.
"What gets me out of bed every day is how we deliver for those people who voted us in to change the country for the better," Sir Keir said.
Sir Keir Starmer is 'not worried' by his decline in popularity
"How can we make them better off? How can I get those waiting lists down? How can we make sure that every young person has the chance to go as far as their talent will take them?
"They're the things that keep me awake. They're the things I get up for in the morning.
Asked about his several trips abroad since becoming PM, Sir Keir said: "There's a direct link between the work that we're doing internationally and the impact back at home and it's very important that is done."
When it was put to him that Deputy PM Angela Rayner and Health Secretary Wes Streeting were said to have been joking about getting his job, he explained: "Those jokes have been going on since the very first day I was elected Labour leader.
"We've got a huge and important majority in government, we've got a clear mandate for change and we're getting on and delivering that change.
"I know it's got to be felt in the pockets of working people, they need to feel better off, there's waiting lists that we're bearing down on."
However, Sir Keir did acknowledge that the government needs to "go further" to win over Brits.
"We've stabilised the economy with the budget but this not the limit of my ambition," he said.
"I know we've got to do the tough stuff on planning, the tough stuff on regulation, there's more that we need to do but growth can't just be a line on a chart.
"It needs to be felt in the pockets of working people."
