Poll: Four policy areas where members say Labour is making most progress

The NHS and trade union relations are the policy areas where the Labour government has made the most progress to date, according to party members surveyed in an exclusive LabourList poll by Survation.

Almost half (47%) of LabourList readers who said they were party members said that Keir Starmer’s administration had made the most improvements to the health service, following the biggest day-to-day increase in NHS spending since 2010 at last year’s Budget and reductions in waiting lists.

More than a third (38%) said the government had made the most progress on industrial relations since taking office last July, a seeming nod to its success ending strikes and driving through employment rights reforms, despite some ongoing rows over public sector pay and the Unite council bin strike in Birmingham.

Members were asked “Which issues do you think the government has made the most progress on?”, with a list covering lots of policy areas.

National security ranked third in the poll with 23%, as the government takes steps to boost Britain’s defence forces with increases in military spending.

The economy was fourth on 18%. It comes in the same week the Prime Minister highlighted an uptick in business confidence at cabinet following three new trade deals, successive interest rate cuts and the fact wages are exceeding prices.

On the other end of the scale, some of the areas ranked lowest for progress were immigration and for refugees and asylum seekers, with only nine per cent and seven per cent respectively telling Survation the government had made the most progress on those issues.

The environment (8%) and climate change (10%) also ranked towards the lower end of the scale, despite Miliband’s popularity in our cabinet league table.

Cost of living top issue facing Britain, members say

We also asked members about the biggest issues facing Britain. The cost of living ranked highest, with 48% of those polled placing it among their top three most important issues.

The economy also ranked highly on 46%, alongside health (40%) and housing (39%).

Almost a third (30%) ranked the environment as among the most important issues facing Britain, while only 16% said welfare benefits and roughly one in five (19%) defence.

Brexit, which dominated national headlines and political discourse for more than five years, was ranked as one of the most important issue by just seven percent of those polled.

‘Members see limited progress on more longer-term challenges’

Damian Lyons Lowe, Chief Executive of Survation, said: “Nearly half of Labour members believe the government has made the most progress on the NHS since taking office, with industrial relations a strong second at 38% – likely reflecting early moves on pay disputes and public sector negotiations.

“But beneath those two, the picture is more fragmented. Just 18% cite the economy and only 15% say housing – despite their prominence in the election campaign. Climate change, immigration and asylum issues all rank at the bottom, suggesting members see limited progress on more contested or longer-term challenges.”

The poll is the latest in a series of regular polls LabourList is publishing in partnership with leading pollsters Survation, a member of the British Polling Council and a Market Research Society Partner.

Survation surveyed 1,304 LabourList readers who also said they were Labour Party members between May 30 and June 1.

Data was weighted to the profile of party members by age, sex, region and 2020 Labour leadership vote, targets for which were derived from the British Election Study and the results of the 2020 leadership election.

Subscribe here to our daily newsletter roundup of all things Labour – and follow us on  Bluesky, WhatsApp, Threads, X or Facebook.

• SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
• SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
• DONATE: If you value our work, please chip in a few pounds a week and become one of our supporters, helping sustain and expand our coverage.
• PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
• ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].