Angela Rayner has said she understands people are angry and “impatient for change”, after several polls showed a drop in support for Labour following the Budget.
The Deputy Prime Minister pointed to the “significant challenges” faced by the Government since its election when pressed on the dip.
In a recent Find Out Now poll, the Tories came out on top with 26% of people stating they would vote for the party if a general election was called today. Meanwhile, 23% said Labour, placing the party below Reform UK which had 24% of the vote.
Polls also appear to suggest a drop in support for Labour in both Wales and Scotland, with voters signalling increased support for Plaid Cymru and the SNP.
Asked on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show if she was concerned by the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the polls, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “I know people are impatient for change and people are very angry that they see (what) they were promised.
“So, for example, when we left the European Union, people were promised more money into the NHS, your living standards will be better, and the opposite has happened.
“I know people are impatient for change, but I also know that people will give us that opportunity and will judge us, and that’s why Keir set out the clear guidelines on what people should expect we will deliver.”
When pressed about why Labour had seen a dip in support, Ms Rayner pointed to “significant challenges” the new Government had inherited, pointing to the prison overcrowding crisis as an example.
“Nobody’s going to think it’s popular to release prisoners early, but we inherited that situation,” she added.
This comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer proposed to “inject ambition back into Britain” by setting out six “milestones” as part of his plan for change.
Higher living standards, clean power by 2030, cutting NHS waiting lists, building 1.5 million homes, putting “more police on the beat”, and giving every child the “best start in life”, were listed as targets by Sir Keir.
A poll conducted by Techne UK for The Independent, following the Prime Minister’s speech on Thursday, showed a rise in support for Reform UK. Of the 1,644 people polled, 21% signalled support for Mr Farage’s party – a three-point increase on its previous poll.
Reform UK also pose a challenge to the Conservatives, according to polls, with shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Richard Fuller stating the party needs to be clear on their plans for immigration and housing.
Asked about the potential rise of Reform UK, he told Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “On issues such as immigration, issues such as housing, yes, there is a need for us to start talking about what direction we’re going to take the country in.
“We need to talk about issues that people worry about, but I don’t think that’s the same as saying we have to now say what exactly we would do if we were in government in five years’ time.”
Meanwhile, Suella Braverman, the Conservative former home secretary, has dispelled rumours she will defect to Reform.
Her husband Rael Braverman is reportedly set to join Mr Farage’s party and has confirmed he left the Tories as the party “has become a shadow of what it once stood for”.
However, Ms Braverman – who both played a senior role in the last government and has since served as one of its most vocal critics – told the Mail on Sunday she would not follow her spouse’s move as he does not “control my political affiliations”.
In Wales, with 2026 Senedd elections on the horizon, Plaid Cymru topped the latest poll at 24%, with both Labour and Reform UK receiving 23% of the vote share each.
The YouGov poll also saw the Conservatives receive 19% of the votes, the Green Party 6%, and the Liberal Democrats 5%.
In Scotland, a poll has suggested the SNP would comfortably emerge as the largest party with a pro-independence majority at Holyrood.
Research carried out by Norstat for the Sunday Times in the wake of John Swinney’s first Budget put the First Minister’s party on 37% for constituency votes.
Elsewhere, a poll by the Country Land and Business Association suggested more than half of rural voters trust Labour less after the Budget, with 57% saying the decision to impose inheritance tax on some farms had led them to trust Labour less, and 61% saying the party was breaking its promise to “end the decline of our countryside”.
