Keir Starmer humiliated as Labour volunteers ‘leave in droves’ as they’re told ‘f*** off’
The Labour Party is seeing volunteers “leave in droves” as too many activists refuse to defend Sir Keir Starmer’s unpopular policies. After the Government’s landslide victory in the 2024 General Election, people were swarming to help leaflet and knock on doors. However, just eight months into their leadership, just a “handful” are reportedly willing to continue their support.
“People have been leaving our local group chat in droves every time a call goes out for canvassers,” a Labour member who canvassed in the south of England told The i Paper. This drastically compares to the “dozens of people careering” down streets last year, with the party having to “turn people away at times and ask them to come back for a different campaigning session”.
The number of people leafleting in the north of England has decreased, councillors say (Image: Getty)
A request last month to join a leafleting session saw an incredibly low turnout, the source reveals. The area saw a fall in support, and its local elections were postponed, yet the Labour activists insisted that engagement was low before this.
The former campaigner is one of many who refuse to support Sir Keir’s policies on benefits reform, the decision not to compensate Waspi women, and pension support cuts.
“I’ve not campaigned in a while. I don’t want to go on the doorstep and defend winter fuel cuts or NICs [national insurance contributions] going up. If people were angry about that, I’d end up agreeing with them,” they added.
A Labour councillor in the north of England shared how grassroots support has declined since July, as many locals are “reluctant” to defend the government.
She explained how there had been a noticeable rise in Reform UK. However, she said, “Quite a few of them have told me to f**k off”.
Reform UK has nearly 1,000 members in a Shropshire branch, a prospective candidate says (Image: Getty)
Nigel Farage’s party has surged in Shropshire, as Joseph Robertson, a prospective candidate for the area, said there is an “incredible amount of interest” for Reform.
“I believe we’re close to 1,000 members in my local branch,” he stated, adding how people who previously never got involved in politics are now helping out.
Another Labour councillor also shared with The i Paper that volunteers for door-knocking is “definitely a problem” in the north of England, adding that support has been dwindling ever since Sir Keir took over the party’s reins.
The source added how people were now “moaning about Keir and Rachel [Reeves] rather than helping”, with “a significant drop-off” in volunteer numbers compared to the 2017 and 2019 elections.
