Keir Starmer supporter asks why he’s so ‘unpopular’ – there was no shortage of answers

One of the few remaining supporters of Keir Starmer asked the internet why the prime minister is so unpopular – and the amount of answers they received could fill a novel.

A YouGov poll published on Wednesday (16 December) revealed the Labour leader, 63, is among one of the most unpopular politicians in the UK today.

48 per cent of respondents said they have a very unfavourable opinion of Starmer, making him the second most disliked politician on the list, trailing slightly behind Reform leader Nigel Farage on who 53 per cent.

Overall, 72 per cent of people dislike Keir Starmer to some extent, giving him a net favourability rating of -54 per cent.

Seemingly bewildered at the results, a BlueSky user posted to the platform asking the public to justify their dislike of the prime minister.

In what is now a viral post, hundreds of users across the country were more than happy to share their disdain for Starmer and his government’s actions since winning the 2024 general election.

Specific issues, such as Labour’s cuts to disability benefits or its policies on immigration, were common among the replies, with one user calling its policies and rhetoric “appalling.”

Common among many of responses was the belief that Labour had U-turned on numerous policies in its manifesto and “swerved to the right as hard as they could.”

“Starmer fundamentally misjudged why people wanted a Labour government,” one user wrote, while another accused them of “[betraying] every principle their party is supposed to stand for.”

Keir Starmer’s U-turn on trans rights

Chief among the examples was Keir Starmer’s sudden U-turn on trans rights after initially showing support while Leader of the Opposition..

During a speech at the PinkNews Awards 2022, two years before his election win, Starmer promised to “modernise” the Gender Recognition Act, ban so-called conversion therapy against all LGBTQ+ people, and appoint an international LGBTQ+ rights envoy.

In the 16 months Labour has been in power, the government has followed through on none of these pledges (Lord Nick Herbert stopped serving as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy in December 2024 and has not been replaced).

Rather, the government has instead supported or implemented anti-trans policies, including an indefinite extension of the national puberty blockers ban.

Starmer himself, once a self-professed “ally” to the community, professed in April that he no longer believed trans women are women.

“Following a historic win, they are implementing anti-immigrant, anti-trans policies that are unpopular with their own voters,” a user wrote in response to the viral Bluesky post. “They seem focused on winning over Reform voters.”

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