Poll: Sir Keir Starmer has better plan for the economy, voters say

Voters believe Sir Keir Starmer has the best plan for the country, despite Rishi Sunak’s claim the Conservatives are the only party to have a “plan” for the future, a poll has found.

The Labour leader launched his party’s six pledges, or “first steps”, last week, with Sir Keir promising economic stability, to cut NHS waiting lists, provide extra teachers, secure border command, set up Great British Energy and crack down on anti-social behaviour.

The Prime Minister, meanwhile, has repeatedly claimed that only he has a plan to improve the economy and stop small boats from crossing the Channel.

Mr Sunak is also fond of saying that a vote for Labour would take the country “back to square one” because it has “no plan”.

In January, he used the word “plan” 41 times in a news conference, as he vowed he would “stick to the plan”.

But the survey of 2,295 adults, by the firm Savanta between May 17 and 19, indicates the slogan is not working.

More than four in 10 voters (42 per cent) say Labour has the best plan, compared to 27 per cent who believe the Tories do, giving Sir Keir’s party a lead of 15 points.

The proportion backing Mr Sunak was three points lower than the 30 per cent who said they did not know who had the best plan.

Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta, said: “The Conservative Party continue to hammer home that they have a plan, that it’s working and that’s why the public should stick with them.

“They may well have more evidence to support this claim this week, if – as anticipated – inflation and net migration both fall. Maybe at this point, they will begin to get credit from voters, who so far appear unmoved by their efforts.”

He added: “There is a significant problem with the Conservatives’ ‘we have a plan’ messaging – the public doesn’t believe them. More to the point, Keir Starmer has a 15-point lead over Rishi Sunak on who has the better plan for the country.

“Voters are hugely cynical about any politician’s ability to change things, and this is impacting both Starmer and Sunak as they make promises ahead of an election.”

Overall, the poll shows that Labour retains its huge lead, 17 points ahead of the Conservatives.

While the Tories advanced by one point to 26 per cent, Labour remained stable at 43 per cent. The Liberal Democrats were on 10 per cent, Reform on 9 per cent and the Greens on 5 per cent.

Among 2019 Tory voters, just over half (52 per cent) say Mr Sunak has the better plan for the country compared to one in five (19 per cent) backing Sir Keir.

In contrast, among 2019 Labour voters, more than three quarters (78 per cent) say Sir Keir has the better plan, with 11 per cent backing Mr Sunak.

Among Liberal Democrat voters, half (49 per cent) say Sir Keir has the better plan and three in 10 (29 per cent) say Mr Sunak does.

Those intending to vote for Reform are more likely to prefer Mr Sunak’s plan to Sir Keir’s – 34 per cent versus 9 per cent – though more than half (56 per cent) say they don’t know.

Labour is sticking to tough spending rules to deliver economic stability, setting up Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power energy company, cutting NHS waiting lists by providing 40,000 more appointments each week, launching a border security command to stop the gangs arranging small boat crossings, providing more neighbourhood police officers to reduce antisocial behaviour and introduced new penalties for offenders, and recruiting 6,500 teachers.

The poll shows that seven in 10 (69 per cent) say the six pledges announced by Labour last week are ambitious and two-thirds (66 per cent) say they are what Britain needs.

However, the public is less sure whether they are achievable (42 per cent), and that Labour will be able to deliver on them (33 per cent).

Even among those who say they intend to vote Conservative, the majority say the pledges are ambitious (69 per cent) and what Britain needs (58 per cent).

Around a quarter (23 per cent) of UK adults support an electoral pact between the Conservative Party and Reform UK, under which Reform UK’s senior figures would stand as Conservatives. Two in five (42 per cent) are opposed to the idea.

It follows the suggestion by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg last week that Mr Sunak should strike such an agreement with Reform UK, possibly with Nigel Farage as home secretary.

Only one in five (22 per cent) of respondents who say they intend to vote for Reform oppose the plan, with three in five (59 per cent) supportive.

While support is lower among those who say they would currently vote Conservative, these respondents are still more likely to say they support a pact than oppose it (42 per cent versus 29 per cent).