‘Labour won being cautious – but Brits are impatient for radical change’

Caution won Labour a General Election but steady as she goes is no longer enough.

It has been another period of frenzied leadership speculation in Westminster. If Labour Party conference was the Andy Burnham show then last week was Wes Streeting’s turn.

It is not hard to see where speculation comes from. Ipsos polling shows 69% think Britain is heading in the wrong direction. Keir Starmer’s net satisfaction rating as Prime Minister is -66. The worst rating for a Prime Minister in Ipsos polling history – going back to the late 1970s. Labour is 15 points behind Reform UK on 18% – the party’s joint lowest voting intention share in that same period. Clearly, for Labour, something needs to change.

The debate in Westminster will centre on personalities. But what are the public looking for? We are regularly told they want ‘change’ but does that mean?

READ MORE: ‘Our coalition is fracturing. We can rebuild it by making life affordable again’

New polling from Ipsos this week asked the public what kind of change they want. 50% called for ‘radical change’ (e.g. a complete overhaul of current systems), 37% for moderate change (e.g. significant adjustments to existing policies), with the rest calling for minimal to no change or having no opinion.  

Labour not seen as the party of radical change

A desire for radical change is felt across the political spectrum. 64% of those on the right want radical change, as do around 4 in 10 describing themselves as on the left (43%) and centre (46%).  Even one in three Labour voters from 2024 say they want radical change too. The trouble for Labour is those calling for radical change do not trust Labour to deliver it. 

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We asked the public which party they trusted most to deliver the change they wanted. The results give us a clear picture of politics in 2025. What is striking is that whilst Labour leads with the 37% of Britons that want moderate change, Labour comes 5th among those wanting radical change. In fact, just 4% of those wanting radical change trust the party most to deliver it. Reform UK (37%) and the Greens (13%) taking first and second place – which at least partially explains their respective positions in the polls.

The wrong kind of change

Our polling also asked the public which party would be most likely to deliver the change Britain does not need. Herein may lie an opportunity for Labour. Overall, Reform UK leads Labour by 23% to 15% on being the party most likely to deliver the change Britain needs. However, Reform UK also leads Labour on being the party most likely to deliver the wrong kind of change too (34% to 24%). Some 4 in 10 of those seeking moderate change (42%)  and 29% of those seeking radical change think Reform offers the wrong kind of change. Perhaps there is still time for Labour to unite a progressive voting coalition to stop Reform UK entering government.

Best when boldest

Tony Blair once said of Labour ‘we are best when we are at our boldest’.  Our polling suggests that Labour must be so again to have any chance of beating Reform UK in a General Election. 

It should concern Labour that today, across the political spectrum, Labour is not the most trusted to deliver the kind of change people want. Predictably Labour is third amongst those on the right  (10%), behind Reform UK (51%) and the Conservatives (20%). Amongst self-described centrists Labour trails Reform UK 21% to 13% (even the Conservatives are on 14%). And for those on the left Labour is 2 points behind the Greens (31% to 29%) As it stands, there is a real risk Labour tries to appeal to everyone and appeals to nobody.

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Of course, what ‘radical change’ is will mean different things to different people. This piece is not seeking to write a policy prospectus or manifesto. Part of the answer will be in bold policy proposals, part of the answer in telling a much better story about the change Labour seeks and why. Reasonable people can debate and differ on how to achieve these goals.

However, what is clear from this data is that half of the country wants radical change and only 4% of this group trust Labour to deliver it. That will have to change if Labour is to close the gap on Reform UK. Whoever leads Labour into the next General Election is most likely to have success if they can better speak to this group than the party is currently doing today.

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