POLITICS

Labour slips to fourth in poll as pressure mounts on Starmer ahead of local elections

Labour trail Reform, the Conservatives and the Green party ahead of the local elections on May 7, new poll shows

By Evening Standard

• April 14, 2026 at 4:14 PM

Labour slips to fourth in poll as pressure mounts on Starmer ahead of local elections Photo: Evening Standard

Labour has slipped to fourth place in a poll on who people will vote for amid growing pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of the upcoming local elections.

YouGov research has still Reform ahead on national voting intention on 24%, with the Conservatives second on 19%.

And the latest poll has the Greens gaining two points on Labour, in third place on 18% ahead of Labour on 17%.

The Liberal Democrats are fifth on 13%.

Labour is expected to lose a number of seats on May 7, with Reform and the Green Party expected to make sizeable gains.

There are around 5,000 council seats up for grabs across England, as well as elections to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Senedd.

Labour has controlled the Welsh chamber since its inception in 1999, but is on course to trail both Plaid Cymru and Reform.

The conflict in the Middle East appears to have eased the pressure on Starmer in recent weeks, after he came close to being ousted over the Mandelson scandal in February.

However, the upcoming ballots are seen as a major test of his leadership, with Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham seen as challengers if the voting goes as forecast.

During a visit to Greater Manchester with Rayner and Burnham on Monday, Starmer played down the possibility that he could resign.

He said: “I was elected in July of 2024 with a five-year mandate to change this country, and I intend to carry through that mandate.

“I will be judged at the next election on whether I've delivered, and I know that I'll be judged on whether living standards have improved, whether our public services are better, particularly the health service, or whether people feel safe and secure as a country in a more volatile and dangerous world.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage branded Starmer the "most unpopular prime minister in living memory" at the launch of Reform's local election campaign last Friday, while Green leader Zack Polanski predicted last week that his party is “heading for a new record-breaking result” in the ballots.