Support for Keir Starmer among old age pensioners has plummeted amid the controversy over the government’s decision to axe winter fuel payments for millions of elderly people, HuffPost UK can reveal.
Polling by More in Common shows the prime minister’s net approval rating among over-65s now stands at minus 38.
That is compared to minus 12 immediately after the general election on July 4.
Overall, Starmer’s approval rating with the general public has also fallen from plus 11 to minus 20 as the government’s popularity has taken a battering.
Within days of taking office, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that winter fuel payments, which are worth up to £300 and have always been paid to every pensioner regardless of their income, would be means tested to help fill a £22 billion black hole she said had been left by the Conservatives.
In future, only those who are eligible for pension credit will receive it, meaning 10 million will miss out.
At the same time, ministers signed off on big pay rises to striking public sector workers.
Starmer is braced for a major Labour rebellion when the decision to means test winter fuel payments is voted on by MPs on Tuesday afternoon.
Luke Tryl, executive director of More in Common UK, said: “If there ever was a honeymoon period for the new Labour government, it has decidedly passed, with Keir Starmer’s approval rating hitting a new low as he grapples with the realities of governing.
“One of Labour’s first political choices was to agree to large pay rises for public sector workers, while at the same time restricting eligibility for the winter fuel allowance.
’The public think that was the wrong call, and by a margin of over two to one think pay deals should have been kept lower if the money could have been used to keep the winter fuel allowance.