Politics

Farage Wipes the Floor with Starmer in New Poll and It’s Got the PM Sweating Through Summer

Published on July 15, 2025

Just when Sir Keir Starmer thought he could coast into the summer recess with a bit of peace, along comes a new Ipsos poll that’s anything but relaxing. Instead of kicking back, he’s been forced to watch Nigel Farage, of all people, beat him in almost every category voters were asked about – from leadership to understanding the nation’s problems. The only thing Starmer edged ahead on was honesty. Awkward.

This might catch some off guard. Not that Starmer is known for outright fibbing more than others in the Westminster bubble. But his rise to the top of the Labour Party has involved a fair bit of shape-shifting, to put it mildly.

Take his brief act of principle in 2016 when he stepped down from Jeremy Corbyn’s front bench, claiming the man was unfit for office. Fast forward a few months and there he was again, back in the fold and upgraded to shadow Brexit secretary, suddenly all in for the Corbyn project. That’s not so much standing by your beliefs as gently parking them for career purposes.

And then there were the pledges he made to woo the Corbyn-supporting membership during the leadership race. Promises aplenty – many of them left-leaning, bold, and idealistic – but once he got the top job, most of them mysteriously vanished. The base got him elected, then he quickly moved on, reported the Telegraph.

His handling of gender issues has also been something of a political obstacle course. He clashed with Labour MP Rosie Duffield over biological definitions, once famously saying “99.9 per cent of women don’t have a penis”, which confused just about everyone. Eventually, after a conversation with Tony Blair, he seemed to settle on the traditional definition of woman as “adult female”. It’s been hard to keep up.

Since taking the keys to No. 10, things haven’t got much steadier. On Israel, for example, Starmer’s earlier support for the country following the October 2023 Hamas attacks looked solid – until Labour lost four seats to pro-Gaza independents. Suddenly the PM and his Foreign Secretary David Lammy were far more open to ICC action against Israel and slapped on export restrictions. Past positions? What past positions?

There was also the infamous Island of Strangers speech – not exactly a Powell moment, but still enough to get some Labour types clutching their pearls. Before long, Starmer was distancing himself from that, too.

And of course, there’s been a steady stream of U-turns – on policy, messaging, and tone – often triggered by the mildest of internal grumbles. Even the recent Supreme Court ruling that “woman” in the Equality Act means biological female was warmly welcomed by Starmer’s team, despite earlier comments suggesting otherwise.

Despite all this, voters still reckon Starmer is the more honest man when pitted against Farage. That’s probably got more to do with Farage’s loveable rogue persona than any serious scrutiny of what he actually says. After all, Farage doesn’t have to run the country – he just gets to tell people what they want to hear.

None of this means Farage is on the cusp of power, but it does show he’s still very much in the mix. As for Starmer, he’ll be clinging to that honesty badge like a life raft – and maybe thinking twice before booking that summer holiday.

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