Prime Minister and Chancellor are second and third from last in influential survey of Labour members
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves (Image: GETTY)
Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer are second and third from bottom in a new poll of Labour members. The Chancellor has a net popularity rating of minus 26, putting her second last in LabourList’s Cabinet league table.
Ms Reeves, who is at the centre of intense speculation over tax hikes in the upcoming autumn budget, is up one point from previous polling two months ago. Sir Keir Starmer is third from last with a net score of minus nine, down two points from June.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall overtook the Chancellor to last place with a rating of minus 33, down 10 points.
Her drop follows a Labour rebellion on benefit cuts, which forced the Government to make a humiliating U-turn.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband remains in first place with a net favourability score of 73, down one point from the previous poll.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner stays in second place with a rating of 59, but she has dropped 12 points.
Other well-known Cabinet members who have seen their popularity fall are Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is down 12 points but remains in second place (Image: Getty)
Damian Lyons Lowe, chief executive of Survation, which carried out the polling, said: “The fourth wave of our Cabinet rankings among Labour members has seen general declines in net favourability for the Cabinet overall on average, with notable drops from the likes of Angela Rayner, Shabana Mahmood, Lisa Nandy, David Lammy and Liz Kendall.
“While Kendall, as Work and Pensions Secretary – placing rock bottom in this edition – has faced persistent criticism over welfare reform policy, member ratings don’t exist in a vacuum.
“These shifts come at a time when Labour’s poll ratings with the wider public have also been on the slide, and changes in public mood inevitably shape how party members view their leadership team.
“It’s worth noting that despite these declines, most of the cabinet still enjoy positive net approval among members – indicating a broadly favourable view of the government’s team, even as individual ratings fluctuate.
“All that being said, at +73, Ed Miliband’s seemingly perma-popularity among members looks as set in stone as… well, the Ed Stone.”
Survation polled 1,021 LabourList readers who also said they were Labour members from August 5-9.
