Starmer’s Popularity Wanes as UK Riots Test Labour Government
(Bloomberg) -- Keir Starmer’s favorability rating dropped to a level last seen before last month’s general election as a plurality of Britons believe the new prime minister did a poor job handling riots that have spread around the UK over the past 10 days.
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Some 53% of Britons polled by YouGov August 5-6 said they have an unfavorable view of the Labour premier, compared to 37% holding a favorable view, the polling company said on Thursday in a statement. That gives him a net favorability score of minus 16, close to the minus 18 he logged immediately before the election on July 4, and down from a post-vote high of zero.
The survey suggests the rioting that swept the country in the wake of the murder of three girls in Southport, northwest England on July 29, has damaged the new premier’s standing among the electorate. A separate YouGov survey earlier this week found 49% of Britons think Starmer has handled the matter badly, with 31% saying he’s done well.
In the wake of the Southport attack, online misinformation, including that the perpetrator was Muslim, led to a wave of far right-fueled violence from Plymouth to Sunderland, including attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers.
Starmer on Thursday vowed to maintain a crackdown on violent protesters after the UK’s worst outbreak of rioting in over a decade. The prime minister said he would convene another emergency meeting with law enforcement officers and plan for the days ahead. “It’s important that we don’t let up here,” he told broadcasters.
Read: UK Riots — Why Violence Erupted After Girls’ Murders: QuickTake
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