Farage more trusted than Starmer on economy

Nigel Farage is the most trusted politician in Britain to run the economy, according to a new poll.

The Reform UK leader was also perceived as the most radical and was backed by 33 per cent of voters to be a more responsible steward of the economy, compared with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who scored 31 per cent.

But when those polled were asked which party overall was most likely to be trusted with the public finances, Labour scored the highest.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was only trusted by 21 per cent of voters to be responsible with public money, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey only scored 14 per cent, according to the poll of 2,000 adults conducted on June 3-4.

“Keir Starmer had hoped to sell his premiership as being responsible and taking difficult decisions with the economy in contrast to the turmoil of recent Conservative PMs,” according to Scarlett Maguire of pollsters Merlin Strategies, which conducted the research.

“However, having spent an enormous amount of political capital on measures that demonstrate fiscal restraint announced so far, most noticeably the now U-turned winter fuel cut, Starmer and Reeves haven’t put Labour ahead on the responsible management of the economy – effectively tying with the Conservatives and Reform. Those tough decisions haven’t paid off for them so far.”

The survey was commissioned by Lawrence Newport, a former academic who fronts two campaigns, one to promote economic development called Looking for Growth and another about “crushing crime.” Newport received death threats after he spearheaded a 2023 campaign to ban dangerous dogs, XL bullies, which ultimately led to a change in the law.

While the poll examined who the public trusted, it also considered which party has the most radical plans for the economy. Reform scored 54 per cent to Labour at 20 per cent.

It also looked at whether voters felt personally better or worse off since the Covid pandemic. Some 42 per cent of those surveyed said they felt worse off, with 33 per cent saying better off, and 24 per cent saying neither better nor worse.

Conservative voters said they felt better off overall (41 per cent), and Labour voters also felt better off overall (52 per cent), but Reform voters felt worse off (52 per cent).

Later today, Reeves is likely to make a virtue of being seen as a steady pair of hands, even as she also acknowledges that not enough people are feeling the progress Labour has made. Her spending review will be about “making working people better off”.

“I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal,” she is expected to say.

The Chancellor will stand up in Parliament to outline day-to-day departmental spending for the next three years and capital budgets for the next four. She will highlight £113bn of extra capital spending, largely on transport infrastructure projects, and funded by borrowing, over the rest of the parliament.

But there is expected to be a significant squeeze in spending across unprotected government services, as the Chancellor prioritises health and defence budgets. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was the final cabinet minister to settle her department’s allocation after talks went to the wire over concerns police budgets will be squeezed.

Farage has made several economic interventions in the last fortnight, pledging higher spending and the reopening of coal mines and blast furnaces to produce virgin steel. Labour has accused him of “fantasy economics,” a theme likely to recur in Reeves’ statement to Parliament.

Promoting a £14bn investment in nuclear power on Tuesday, Starmer told GB News, “I want to go forward, not backwards. And Nigel Farage is going backwards” over his steel plans.