Miliband tops LabourList Cabinet league table, with gender divide in PM approval

Ed Miliband is once again the most favoured member of the Labour Cabinet among party members, exclusive polling by Survation for LabourList revealed.

The former Labour leader and current Energy Secretary topped the poll, conducted by Survation, with a net favourability of +70, continuing his popularity among the party membership into 2026.

Miliband was followed by Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn at +51, with Defence Secretary John Healey and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy at +45.

Gender divide in support for PM

Prime Minister Keir Starmer ranked 24th of the 28 members of the cabinet, with a net favourability of +5 among Labour party members.

Starmer’s approval was highest in London at +18, but lowest in South East England at -11.

Those who voted for Bridget Phillipson for deputy leader gave the Prime Minister a high approval rating of +64, while backers of Lucy Powell gave Starmer a significantly lower rating of -25.

Members who supported Keir Starmer as party leader gave the PM an approval of +31, compared to +14 among Lisa Nandy backers and -84 for those who supported Rebecca Long Bailey.

The poll also revealed a gender divide in approval for Keir Starmer, with women Labour members holding a higher approval of the Prime Minister than men, at +17 to -4 respectively.

Only two Cabinet members had a negative approval rating amongst the party membership – Chancellor Rachel Reeves (-6) and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall (-9).

Of other members of the Cabinet:

• Former deputy leadership contender Bridget Phillipson scored highly with a net favourability of +35
• Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones and Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden both secured an approval rating of +30
• Health Secretary and rumoured leadership contender Wes Streeting scored a +22 approval rating among party members
• Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood secures a net favourability of +3, below that of the Prime Minister

The poll was conducted before the height of the Mandelson scandal last week.

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Emma Burnell, editor of LabourList, said: “For all the noise of the last week Labour members still have an overall positive impression of much of the cabinet. Ed Miliband topping the polls again is not a surprise as his department has been very active delivering the largest ever clean energy auction and the Local Power Plan. These are policies that are popular with Labour members and are being seen to deliver on Labour’s agenda.”

Damian Lyons Lowe, chief executive of Survation, said: “It’s now over 10 years since Ed Miliband stepped down as leader of the Labour party, and as far as Labour members are concerned, the Energy Secretary has aged like a fine wine. That’s not to say however that members are clamouring for Ed to have another go at the top spot – in line with Ed’s own position – he is not also topping the member’s chart for next leader of the party. Ed is loved in his lane and looks well positioned to remain a long term member of cabinet amid the current turbulence”

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 1,264 readers of LabourList, the leading dedicated newsletter and news and comment website for Labour supporters, who also said they were Labour Party members between February 5 and 6.

Data was weighted to the profile of party members by age group, sex, region and 2025 deputy leadership vote. Targets for weighting were drawn from the British Election Study and the results of the leadership and deputy leadership election.

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