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‘Jellyfish’ and ‘doormat’: why is Keir Starmer so deeply unpopular?
Politics•February 12, 2026 at 3:00 PMNational

‘Jellyfish’ and ‘doormat’: why is Keir Starmer so deeply unpopular?

By Peter Walker Senior political correspondent•The Guardian - UK News

From his public persona to a sense that he sold the country a pup, many factors seem to feed a sense of ‘great dislike’UK politics live – latest updatesIn yet another confusing and chaotic period for British politics there is one thing on which just about everyone can agree: Keir Starmer is unpopular. Very, very unpopular.His net favourability rating, the difference between those who have a generally positive or negative view of the prime minister has been, depending on the pollster, anything from -50 to -57, a nadir only beaten by Liz Truss. Recent focus group descriptions of Starmer include a “jellyfish” and a “doormat”. Continue reading...

From his public persona to a sense that he sold the country a pup, many factors seem to feed a sense of ‘great dislike’

In yet another confusing and chaotic period for British politics there is one thing on which just about everyone can agree: Keir Starmer is unpopular. Very, very unpopular.

His net favourability rating, the difference between those who have a generally positive or negative view of the prime minister has been, depending on the pollster, anything from -50 to -57, a nadir only beaten by Liz Truss. Recent focus group descriptions of Starmer include a “jellyfish” and a “doormat”.

Continue reading...

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