Labour have responded well to the rising cost of living

Just a third (35%) of UK adults say that the Labour Party have produced clear policy ideas, according to new polling from Savanta ComRes.

The polling, released on the day of Keir Starmer’s keynote speech to delegates at Labour’s annual conference, finds that almost half (46%) say that Labour have not produced clear policy ideas, including 29% of 2019 Labour voters, and two thirds (66%) of Conservative 2019 voters, some of whom Labour will need to win over to be victorious at the next election.

Despite the perception that Labour do not have a clear policy platform, seven in ten (71%) support Labour’s plan freeze fuel bills this winter, funded by increasing taxes on oil and gas companies.

And half (48%) of the public say that the party has responded well to the rising cost of living, compared to just a quarter (28%) who say the same about the Conservatives.

Starmer’s net favourability in Savanta’s political tracker stands at +6, having been as low as -10 in June, and he leads Liz Truss narrowly in the Best Prime Minister metric (37% for Starmer vs 35% for Truss).

Of those that are currently intending to vote Labour, though, four in five (79%) say that Starmer would make the best Prime Minister, with 11% saying that they don’t know and one in ten (10%) current Labour voters opting for Truss.

A quarter (25%) of UK adults say that they like both Keir Starmer and his policies, while the same proportion (25%) say that they dislike both Starmer and his policies, a drop of 7pts since August’s tracker.

Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta ComRes said, “This conference has felt crucial for Starmer, and his keynote speech today is an opportunity to make his pitch to the nation that he and his party have the answers to lead the country through the economic crisis it finds itself in.”

“The Conservative Party under Liz Truss’ premiership have made the dividing lines crystal clear when it comes to its economic policy.

“While Labour are traditionally not trusted with the country’s finances to the same extent as the Conservatives, these clear ideological differences between the two parties present an opportunity for Starmer and Labour to reverse its perception of economic incompetence and present an alternative to the brand of trickle-down Trussonomics being pursued by the government.”