Fears of record low election turnout due to Starmer and Sunak’s lack of charisma

A lack of charismatic leaders and a growing sense of public disillusionment in politics is fuelling fears within both Labour and the Tories that voters will stay away at the next election.

Both Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are under pressure to offer voters a more compelling reason to go out and vote for the party amid fears it could cost them at the ballot box.

Anger among voters over the political chaos that has gripped Westminster over the last few years has also sparked concerns that the next election will see a low turnout as the public turns its face against the political classes.

One Labour insider said the threat of “voter disillusionment” in politics is a serious concern as it poses the risk of more extremist politicians entering the fray.

“We thought of it as voter apathy in 2010, that they believed all parties were the same, and that led to a coalition being formed. But it was really voter anger, and that anger helped fuel Brexit as many voters tried to force a change.

“But now they’ve seen Brexit fail to deliver, that anger will lead to disillusionment. And that is far more dangerous for politics – what fills that hole?”

The concerns have prompted some to suggest both Sir Keir and Mr Sunak need to do more to inspire voters to go out and back them if they are to avoid losing ballots on polling day.

Ed Dorrell, partner at political strategy firm Public First, suggested the lack of a pull factor was one of the biggest obstacles to Sir Keir securing a large majority at the next election.

“I describe it as the three-pint test,” Mr Dorrell said. “If someone is not a committed voter, who wants to see the Tories out of government but is not hugely engaged in politics, if they’re in the pub on polling night and they’ve had two pints and they have the option to dash out and vote for Labour before the polls close, or someone offers to buy them a pint – too often the pint wins.

“That’s the biggest challenge for Labour right now. Keir Starmer is not doing enough to convince the apathetic voter to forgo the pint and go and vote.”

Similar concerns are being felt among Tory MPs over the Prime Minister’s appeal to voters. There is frustration among some that, while Mr Sunak is charming and affable in private, he becomes wooden in front of the public.

One Tory MP told i: “There is a problem now with the leadership, and I am not one of those saying we need to get rid of him, but his personal ratings are starting to dive. I like him but my biggest frustration is that we’re still seeing ‘Robot Rishi’, we’re not quite seeing ‘Rishi Rishi’. And when I see ‘Rishi Rishi’ he is actually one of the most normal, nicest people that I’ve met. But he’s just robotic.”

Another Conservative backbencher said the anger among voters over the performance of the Government in the last few years was also a factor.

“My voters say we like Rishi – although that is declining, actually – but we don’t like Keir and we’re not going to vote for anyone else. You lot need to sort your shit out,” the MP said.

“And they’re just not going to come out and vote. Now whether we can get some of them to come out and vote in the next 11 months, remains to be seen. But I think it’ll be a low turnout election.”