Terrorism and defence are the only issues on which even half of Labour voters believe the government is doing a good job
Over the last few months, public approval of the Labour government has stabilised, with around 14-17% of Britons approving of their record over the last two months of our tracker, while 63-67% disapprove. It’s not an ideal evaluation for Labour after less than a year in office, but a weak overall approval rating does not necessarily mean the public think the government are performing poorly across all policy areas.
Now a new YouGov study examines opinion among more than 8,000 Britons over the course of May and early June to see where the public believe Labour are doing a relatively good job.
Undoubtedly, the public do mostly think the government are handling many key issues badly, with this particularly noticeable on the three issues that have consistently topped our most important issues tracker since the election: the NHS, immigration and the economy.
Around seven in ten Britons (69-71%) see the economy and the NHS as being handled badly, compared to just one in five (19-21%) thinking the government have handled the issues well. On immigration, Britons are even more critical, with three quarters of the public (74%) saying the government are handling the matter badly, including a majority (52%) saying they are handling the issue very badly. Just one in seven (14%) give Labour a positive review on the issue.
There are, however, two notable exceptions where Britons are more divided on the government’s performance. On combating terrorism, there is actually a small net positive rating, with the public splitting 37% to 34% over whether Labour are handling the issue well, while being divided 34% to 41% on whether they have done a good job on the issue of defence.
Nonetheless, this does come with the asterisk that the last Conservative government was also seen as doing better than average on these two issues, particularly terrorism, suggesting credit may not be due to Labour for managing these issues uniquely well.
Which issues do Labour voters think the government are doing well on?
Terrorism and defence don’t just stand out when looking at the public as a whole. Among voters for all five main parties, they are consistently the two issues polled where Starmer’s government get their best reviews, including being the only two where at least half of Labour voters (50-54%) say the government have handled the issues well.
Four in ten Labour voters (40%) say the government have handled inflation and Brexit well, though this is balanced by slightly more (42-43%) believing they have handled the issues badly. Just 37% say the economy is being handled well, while half (50%) feel Labour have done a bad job on the issue.
It is the economy where there is the greatest difference between Labour and Lib Dem voters, with just 28% of the latter saying the government has handled the issue well, nine points less than among Labour voters. On other matters, Lib Dems are between three and seven points less likely to give the government a thumbs up.
Across nearly all issues polled, Reform UK voters are the least satisfied by the government’s performance, with this lowest on immigration, where just 1% believe the government has done well. On the environment, Green voters are roughly as unlikely (15%) to say the government have handled the issue well as Reform UK voters (16%). It is welfare benefits, however, where Green voters are least pleased with the government, with just 11% believing Labour have handled the issue well.
Those who see an issue as important tend to be less satisfied with the government’s handling of those issues
Of course, not all issues are equally important to all Britons: for instance, around half of the public see immigration as one of the top issues facing the country, while the other half do not. And for those who see an issue as mattering, the government’s performance on that issue is likely to have more influence in their evaluation of the government as a whole.
On most of the issues polled, those who say that issue is one of the top issues facing the country are less likely to approve of Labour’s handling of the matter.
For instance, among those who say immigration is one of the top issues facing the country, just 3% say the government is handling the issue well, compared to 14% of all Britons. The largest gap is found on the issue of crime, with just 6% of those who see it as a top issue saying the government have done a good job, 13 points less than the public as a whole.
Large differences are also apparent on transport (14% of those saying it is a key issue vs 26% all Britons), taxation (5% vs 14%) and welfare benefits (7% vs 16%). However, on the issues of defence, the NHS and the economy, the gap between those who see it as an important issue and all Britons is negligible, being 0-1 points.
Women are less positive about the government’s handling of key issues
The fact that overall government approval is lower among women than men carries over to evaluations of the government’s performance on key issues.
This can particularly be seen on the issue of health, which women are significantly more likely than men to say is a top issue facing the country (43% vs 27%). Just 16% of women say the government is handling the issue well, 10 points lower than men (26%), while 74% of women say the government is doing a poor job, relative to 64% of men.
Although the 20-point gender difference on the handling of the NHS is exceptionally large, the pattern is not unusual, with the government’s net handling score lower among women on all but one issue polled (transport).
Other particularly large gender gaps include the issue of inflation (-46 net score among women vs -31 among men) and the economy (-57 vs -46), consistent with previous findings that women are continuing to be hit harder by cost of living pressures.
See the full data for these trackers here
Which issues do you think the government are handling well? What do you think about their performance in general, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
Photo: Getty
