Voters in dark over Labour policies as Starmer set for Blair-style majority

Voters remain unclear what Labour would do in power even as Sir Keir Starmer heads for a Blair-style landslide victory at this year’s general election, a new poll has warned.

A BMG Research survey for i shows that Labour has a record 18-point lead over the Conservatives, which would put the party in government for the first time in 14 years with a large Commons majority if replicated at the election.

But Sir Keir’s party has yet to convince voters that it has a clear policy plan, the poll suggests.

Fifity per cent of voters now think Labour is ready for government – including 29 per cent of those who voted Conservative at the last general election – with 39 per cent believing the party is not ready.

But in a sign of the potential opposition the Leader of the Opposition faces from Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters, the proportion of 2019 Labour voters who now think the party is not ready to enter power has doubled in the past six months, from 9 to 16 per cent.

And asked about Labour’s position on the most important policy areas, respondents tended to say that they do not know what the party’s plans entail. Healthcare was the only policy where more than 40 per cent of voters claimed to understand Labour’s position.

Across 17 other major issues including the economy, immigration, welfare, education, crime, foreign affairs and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the public does not appear confident in the Opposition’s plans.

Labour has put the economy at the centre of its policy platform, promising to make the UK the fastest-growing country in the G7 through reforms such as a new planning system. But only 39 per cent said they understand the party’s promises with 42 per cent saying they are unclear.

On immigration, 48 per cent believe Labour’s policy is not clear and 32 per cent understand the party’s plans – which centre around abandoning the Rwanda deportation scheme and instead breaking up criminal gangs to reduce illegal migration, while boosting British workers’ skills so there is less need for firms to import foreign employees.

Some 33 per cent of those polled by BMG said they were confident in Labour’s policy on pensions, compared to 47 per cent disagreeing. The party is set to back the “triple lock” on state pensions in its election manifesto but has not yet publicly confirmed this, while it is still formulating a response to the recent report calling for compensation for the so-called “Waspi women” who received their pension later than they had expected.

Brexit is another area where Labour’s plans are not widely understood, with 34 per cent saying the party’s policy is clear and 46 per cent thinking the opposite. Sir Keir has said he will fix the problems with the existing Brexit deal by negotiating better access to European markets.

BMG’s Panayiota Papouridou said: “On the face of it, the closer we get to the election, the more the public appears to be putting their trust in Starmer. Across all policy issues – economic, social and foreign – the public trusts Starmer more than Sunak.

“And yet, despite the marked difference in trust, some sections of the public remain unconvinced by Starmer. They remain unclear on nearly all areas of policy that a Starmer-led Labour government would enact – though the same can be said of Sunak and the Conservatives.”

He added: “Ultimately, Starmer has guided Labour from its most disappointing electoral outcome in years to the cusp of a significant majority. Yet, it’s important to note that this resurgence doesn’t equate to the public having a deep fondness for Starmer.”

BMG Research interviewed a representative sample of 1,530 GB adults online between 2 and 3 April. BMG are members of the British Polling Council and abide by their rules.