Nearly half of voters say they want another general election within the next six months, polling shows, in an underwhelming verdict on the Labour Government’s performance so far.
A survey by BMG Research conducted exclusively for The i Paper shows that 47 per cent of respondents would like to recast their votes in another election, while just 24 per cent are against the idea.
Unsurprisingly, support for another polling day was highest among Reform and Conservative voters, with 81 per cent and 77 per cent of those respondents backing the suggestion, respectively.
Similarly, backing for a second election within 12 months was lowest among Labour and Liberal Democrat voters, although a third of respondents did still support the notion, with 34 per cent and 33 per cent in favour of the idea, respectively.
Talk of a second general election has risen in the last week after an online petition calling for a re-run reached nearly 3m signatures.
And while there is very little chance of voters having the opportunity to go to the ballot box again before 2029, the rise in support does suggest a growing dissatisfaction among the electorate over the Government’s early performance.
The petition was started by small-business owner Michael Westwood, who told the Daily Express that he felt voters had been “betrayed” by the Labour Government.
“It’s about fighting back against all the increases in taxes and the cost of inflation. As a small business we’ve got to fight back and try and help the people around us and the community,” he told the paper.
It was then given a significant boost after tech giant and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk reposted the petition on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Sir Keir Starmer has been forced to repeatedly dismiss the suggestion of holding another general election, telling ITV earlier this week that he regularly reminds himself “that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election”.
“I’m not surprised that many of them want a re-run. That isn’t how our system works,” he added.
The issue was raised again by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch during Prime Minister’s Questions, prompting Starmer to reply: “We had a massive petition on the 4th of July in this country.”
The only party likely to significantly benefit from a snap poll would be Reform, which is currently polling at 20 per cent, according to the latest BMG figures for The i Paper.
Labour reestablished its lead over the Tories, with 28 per cent of the vote share, compared to 26 per cent for the Conservatives.
This is a fall from the 35 per cent Labour achieved at the general election in July, when the Tories achieved just 24 per cent of the vote. Immediately before the election Labour was polling at 39 per cent and the Tories 22 per cent.
But while Starmer has a poor net satisfaction rating of -28 percentage points, compared to Badenoch’s +7 percentage points, just 55 per cent of those polled were even aware of the new Tory leader.
Labour also maintain strong leads over the Conservatives across several crucial issues such as healthcare and the NHS (13 per cent), housing (11 per cent) and social care (11 per cent).
BMG polled more than 1,500 adults between the 26 and 27 of November.
