Keir Starmer’s approval is ‘irrecoverable’, top pollster warns

Speaking to Channel 4 News, pollster Scarlett Maguire has explained why Kier Starmer’s personal brand is “irrecoverable”:

“His brand is irrecoverable.”

The Labour Party should be worried because Sir Keir Starmer’s unpopularity “has no floor”, unlike former Labour leaders like Jeremy Corbyn who have a loyal base of support, pollster @Scarlett__Mag says pic.twitter.com/C8AUaWz4FZ

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) November 13, 2025

It’s almost like never sticking to your word is a rubbish political strategy if you want to maintain support.

Kier Starmer — “Irrecoverable”

Speaking to Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Maguire said:

The thing that would really worry me if I was in the Labour Party about Keir Starmer is that he has no floor.

Maguire noted that Corbyn is less unpopular than Starmer, noting some may be surprised by this if they think Corbyn’s “views are unpalatable to the public as a whole”. Speaking on the possible disconnect between how Corbyn is spoken about and how voters responded to Labour under Corbyn, Maguire noted:

we should remember that [Corbyn] got 40% of the vote in 2017 under very different circumstances, and in fact, basically got the same amount of votes that Keir Starmer did in 2024 when he led Labour to that crushing defeat in 2019.

While Maguire is correct, it’s worth clarifying that more people voted for Corbyn in 2019 than voted for Starmer in 2024. The reason Keir Starmer won a majority and Corbyn lost is because the Tory vote collapsed in 2024, while Boris Johnson was able to rally the support of Brexit-supporting Labour voters in 2019 (this was on the back of Starmer’s disastrous second referendum policy, of course – a policy Starmer abandoned as leader).

Back to Maguire, she continued:

But [Corbyn] remains more popular now than Keir Starmer is. And that’s because there are parts of the public that like what Jeremy Corbyn says, that believe he is authentic to what he says and will stick with him no matter what. Boris Johnson had a similar thing.

Many unpopular politicians have people that will not desert them because they believe them to be authentic at least to some things and some principles, and that is what Keir Starmer is completely lacking.

A lot of Starmer’s problems – and the reason why I believe his brand is irrecoverable – is because the public have completely made up their mind on Keir Starmer and the number one problem they have with him is a sense that he is untrustworthy; that he goes back on what he says and that he breaks his promises…

actually, an awful lot of that stems from when he was the leader of the opposition, and when he did break a lot of those pledges that he stood to be leader of the Labour Party on. And that’s been his chronic problem with his brand ever since.

This is why Labour’s polling under Starmer has mostly gone straight down; because once people realise he can’t be trusted, they’re finished with him:

🚨 NEW | Labour plunges to historic low in polls

The **average** of polls for July shows Starmer’s Labour party on just 22%, down 13pts since 2024.

This is the lowest that Labour has **EVER** polled. pic.twitter.com/0X9ollY0lS

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@LeftieStats) August 1, 2025

The betrayer

Speaking on the Starmer effect in May 2024, Rachel Swindon wrote for the Canary:

We’ve had 10 pledges, five missions, six fixes, four years of lies and deceit that gives the Johnsonite Tories a run for their money, three Tory MPs that now feel at home in the Labour Party, Lord only knows how many major U-turns

The u-turns and betrayals have continued since Starmer took power, including:

• The Winter Fuel Allowance fiasco.
• Attacking disabled people.
• The cronyism scandals.
• Plans to raise taxes despite a manifesto pledge not to do so.

The key problem Keir Starmer has is that a known liar can’t convince people they’re telling the truth.

In other words, Maguire is correct that things can only get not-better.

Featured image via Leftie Stats