As pressure mounts on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a new poll suggests many Labour Party members believe the party would stand a better chance of winning the next general election under a different leader.
According to a recent YouGov survey of 706 Labour members, only 28 per cent believe Labour can win the next election with Starmer leading the party. While 61 per cent said they would prefer Starmer to remain leader for now, only 28 per cent felt he should stay in charge until the next election.
Around a third of respondents said they wanted him to step down either immediately or within the coming months. The survey also found that 57 per cent of Labour members believe the party has little chance of returning to Downing Street if Starmer remains at the helm.
The growing unease follows a major setback for Starmer after UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from the government and launched his own leadership bid. In his resignation letter, Streeting said he had “lost confidence” in Starmer’s leadership, arguing that the prime minister lacked both vision and direction.
The poll identified Andy Burnham as Labour members’ preferred choice to replace Starmer and lead the party into the next election. According to the YouGov survey, 47 per cent of respondents selected Burnham as their top leadership choice. Around 74 per cent also said they believed Labour would have a stronger chance of winning the 2029 election under his leadership.
In a direct comparison, Burnham secured 47 per cent support among members, ahead of Starmer on 31 per cent. Former deputy home minister Angela Rayner came third with 8 per cent.
