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Red Wall voters prefer a pint with Starmer over Sunak

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 29: Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer celebrates an England goal as he watches the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between Wales and England at New Bloomsbury Set cocktail bar on November 29, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Nicola arrested, Boris now seatless, Nadine’s on the warpath and the Tories are in the mire. These days life seems pretty sweet if you’re Keir Starmer. You can even U-turn on your flagship policy on the Today programme and have it completely forgotten about by the time of the Six O’Clock news. And now a new survey commissioned by Mr S brings more cheer for the Labour leader.

Starmer’s first priority upon replacing Corbyn – other than tackling antisemitism – was winning back the Red Wall and it seems his efforts have not been in vain. A new poll for The Spectator by Redfield and Wilton of 1,200 voters shows that if offered the choice of a pint with the two main party leaders, a third (32 per cent) would prefer Keir Starmer with just one in five (20 per cent) opting for Rishi Sunak. Ouch.

Some 37 per cent trust Labour the most to represent the interests of ‘the North’ – compared to just 15 per cent who plump the Tories. As for the Tories much-vaunted promises in 2019: 56 per cent of Red Wall voters say they ‘do not trust all’ the Conservatives to ‘level up’ the area where they live. A whopping 63 per cent do not feel like the government has been making a clear effort to ‘level up’ their area. And when asked to judge the success of ‘levelling up’, some 47 per cent say it has been a failure – four times as many as the 12 per cent who describe it as a ‘success.’

Enjoy that beer Keir – it might even go well with a curry…

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Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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