Sir Keir Starmer’s party has been punished at the ballot box in by-elections during its first few months in government while being beset with scandals
Sir Keir Starmer’s popularity has plunged since becoming Prime Minister (Image: Getty)
Labour has lost more than four in 10 of the council seats it has defended in by-elections since the General Election, figures have revealed.
The ruling party has fought in 58 council seats since the national poll, of which it has held 34 but lost 24.
Political analyst David Cowling, former political research editor at the BBC who conducted the analysis, said: “You would expect a governing party to take a bit of a hit after a General Election, but certainly not as immediate nor as drastic as this.”
The Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Reform UK and the Scottish Nationalists all won seats from Labour.
But most of its defeats have involved ceding wards to the Conservatives, who have gained 14 council seats from Labour.
Labour has also gained five additional council seats, including three in Scotland and one in Wales.
Mr Cowling said: “This is extraordinary to me — we’d expect Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Greens to be pecking at the corpse of the Conservative Party and stripping it bare.”
Labour’s popularity has plunged since the July 4 election because of winter fuel payment fury, rows over freebies, National Insurance increases on employers and an inheritance tax raid on farmers.
It won 402 out of 650 parliamentary constituencies and secured a working majority of 163 this summer, although it only won 34% of the popular vote.
Mr Cowling said voter support for Labour had fallen eight percentage points from an average of 38% since July 4, to 30% in October.
Support for the Tories has risen from an average of 21% to 25% during the same period.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s approval rating has plummeted from a high of plus 11 in July to minus 38, a survey by More in Common has found.
