Four in five members back Starmer as poll reveals transformed Labour party

Four in five Labour members back Keir Starmer and believe he will win a majority at the next election, according to private polling that shows a transformation among the party's grassroots.

- Eleni Courea

Two polls shared with the Guardian demonstrate how the composition of Labour's membership has changed since Starmer was elected leader in April 2020. Since then, his advisers have embarked on a mission to change the party, starting by proscribing several far-left groups that had been supportive of the previous leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

"There has absolutely been a deliberate strategy to change the membership," one Labour official said. "The proscription of those groups was absolutely key because it sent a message that if you're in any way affiliated with them, this is not the party for you." Within the last four years, the grassroots has shrunk by about 150,000 and undergone considerable churn. Starmer became Labour leader after winning 56% of members' votes in the April 2020 contest. His nearest rival, Rebecca Long-Bailey, got 28% of the vote, and Lisa Nandy 16%.

Since then, Labour Together - a group linked to Morgan McSweeney, arguably Starmer's most influential aide and the party's current campaign director has been taking the temperature of party members.

Two YouGov polls for the group, one conducted in April 2023 and the other in October 2023, demonstrate the change in the membership's views and composition.