Voters don’t think Starmer and Badenoch will lead parties into next general election

Voters do not believe Keir Starmer or Kemi Badenoch will lead their parties at the next general election, following disastrous council results.

Research by pollsters More in Common found that nearly 6 in 10 people think Sir Keir will not be in charge of Labour, while almost half think the same of the Conservative leader.

But those who want to replace her with Robert Jenrick face a shock, as the group found that he would fail to put the Tories ahead of Nigel Farage’s Reform - although replacing her with disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson would.

Tory MPs are set to hold meetings this week to discuss how to remove their leader, as panic grows over the party’s future following Reform’s success in the local elections.

The Tories lost 15 councils and 674 seats last week in devastating results, which saw Mr Farage declare his party was now the main opposition to Labour, after it won 676 seats and overall control of 10 councils.

Labour also had a terrible night, losing 187 council seats, far more than had been expected, as well as a by-election in Runcorn and Helsby, where Reform overturned a 14,700 majority to win by just six votes.

More in Common said Labour could try to win back voters by reforming the controversial Winter Fuel Allowance.

Welsh First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan has called for a rethink on the decision to means-test the allowance, saying the decision to axe the universal benefit for around 10 million of pensioners was "something that comes up time and again".

More in Common’s executive director Luke Tryl said actions on the cost of living, immigration and the NHS were all top tests for the government.

But he said when it came to the cost of living, the constant refrain was “I’m living to work, not working to live”.

Comments about the NHS that are coming up in focus groups “are generally better than the have been”, he said, adding it “could be that the NHS ends up being the bright spot for Labour”.

But he warned the party faces “big challenges” next year, with elections in Scotland and Wales, as well as more Labour-facing councils up for grabs in the local elections. “It is going to be a challenging electoral cycle,” he said.

However, there was some hope for the two largest parties.

More in Common found that nearly half of Reform voters, 46 per cent, said that they wanted to send a signal on who they would vote for at the national level with these elections.

That figure was much higher than for other parties, where voters were more inclined to say they were casting their ballots on local issues.