Labour’s lead over the Conservatives among the public on key economic issues has “all but faded away” in just six months since their July election victory, according to new research from Savanta.
In Savanta’s latest political tracker (15-17 November), Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ party holds a narrow lead over the Conservatives on the economy (5 points), taxation (2 points) and cost of living (9 points).
Labour’s lead on these issues has dropped significantly since 12-14 July:
- The economy:
- Labour 50%, Conservatives 28% in July (22 point lead)
- Labour 38%, Conservatives 33% in November (5 point lead)
- Taxation:
- Labour 46%, Conservatives 30% in July (16 point lead)
- Labour 37%, Conservatives 35% in November (2 point lead)
- Cost of living:
- Labour 53%, Conservatives 25% in July (28 point lead)
- Labour 40%, Conservatives 31% in November (9 point lead)
More broadly, Chancellor Rachel Reeves net favourability (-18) remains at one of its lowest levels in 2024, although her popularity appears to have “levelled out” since the Autumn Statement.
Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said, “Since the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor’s personal ratings – like other senior Labour figures – has levelled out, suggesting to me that Labour has broadly managed to stem the tide of rapidly plummeting popularity after a tricky first summer in office.
“Of greater concern should be that the carefully built advantage Labour had over the Conservatives on economic issues has all but faded away since the election. The Conservatives haven’t made up that much ground on the economy, taxation and cost of living, but many voters no longer think that Labour are the most trusted on these issues.
“Reeves would no doubt argue that she is being forced to take difficult decisions because of the inheritance left to her by her Conservative predecessors. While the public do have sympathy to that point of view, I think it’s fair to say they were expecting more from Labour.”
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