Lord Ashcroft: My latest polling – U-turns, defections, social media, preferred coalitions and Britain and the US
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. For more information on his work, visit
My latest polling looks at the Jenrick defection, government U-turns, social media and internet regulation, and Keir Starmer’s relationship with President Trump. We also ask how people would describe the party leaders and which parties they would want to see in coalition in the event of a hung parliament.
What have people noticed – and who has noticed what?
President Trump’s wish for the US to take over Greenland was the most noticed recent political news story. Domestically, the defection of Robert Jenrick and others from the Conservatives to Reform UK dominated people’s recollections, followed by the government’s change of policy on mandatory digital ID.
Our political map shows what kind of voters were most likely to recall which news. Stories about the defections to Reform appear close to the centre of the map, meaning they were recalled across the board, rather than by any particular kind of voter. News about Trump and Greenland, Venezuela and ICE were most likely to be mentioned by those on the Labour and Lib Dem-leaning left-hand side of the map, while stories including the digital ID U-turn and the retirement of the West Midlands chief constable following the ban on Israeli football fans were most often recalled in the Reform-leaning bottom right quadrant.
The Labour government
When we asked people to name something specific the Labour government had done since being elected in 2024, the most common answers were means testing the winter fuel allowance, lifting the two-child benefit cap, making U-turns, failing to stop small boat migration, and increasing employers’ National Insurance and other taxes.
The winter fuel allowance, the two-child car and employers’ National Insurance were mentioned throughout the electorate. Other tax rises, small boats, cancelled local elections and the Chagos Islands deal were most likely to be recalled by those on the Conservative and Reform-leaning right hand side of the map, while the minimum wage, breakfast clubs, rental reforms and selling weapons to Israel were most likely to be remembered in Labour, Lib Dem and Green voting territory.
Overall, voters were more likely to say that U-turns show a government is weak and has no direction than that it is listening and prepared to admit mistakes. 2024 Labour and Lib Dem voters were slightly more likely to think they showed a government was listening – but more than one third of both groups thought it showed it was weak.
Only one in ten voters overall said the government was making progress and doing some good things (down from a quarter in January 2025). This included just over one fifth of those who …
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. For more information on his work, visit
My latest polling looks at the Jenrick defection, government U-turns, social media and internet regulation, and Keir Starmer’s relationship with President Trump. We also ask how people would describe the party leaders and which parties they would want to see in coalition in the event of a hung parliament.
What have people noticed – and who has noticed what?
President Trump’s wish for the US to take over Greenland was the most noticed recent political news story. Domestically, the defection of Robert Jenrick and others from the Conservatives to Reform UK dominated people’s recollections, followed by the government’s change of policy on mandatory digital ID.
Our political map shows what kind of voters were most likely to recall which news. Stories about the defections to Reform appear close to the centre of the map, meaning they were recalled across the board, rather than by any particular kind of voter. News about Trump and Greenland, Venezuela and ICE were most likely to be mentioned by those on the Labour and Lib Dem-leaning left-hand side of the map, while stories including the digital ID U-turn and the retirement of the West Midlands chief constable following the ban on Israeli football fans were most often recalled in the Reform-leaning bottom right quadrant.
The Labour government
When we asked people to name something specific the Labour government had done since being elected in 2024, the most common answers were means testing the winter fuel allowance, lifting the two-child benefit cap, making U-turns, failing to stop small boat migration, and increasing employers’ National Insurance and other taxes.
The winter fuel allowance, the two-child car and employers’ National Insurance were mentioned throughout the electorate. Other tax rises, small boats, cancelled local elections and the Chagos Islands deal were most likely to be recalled by those on the Conservative and Reform-leaning right hand side of the map, while the minimum wage, breakfast clubs, rental reforms and selling weapons to Israel were most likely to be remembered in Labour, Lib Dem and Green voting territory.
Overall, voters were more likely to say that U-turns show a government is weak and has no direction than that it is listening and prepared to admit mistakes. 2024 Labour and Lib Dem voters were slightly more likely to think they showed a government was listening – but more than one third of both groups thought it showed it was weak.
Only one in ten voters overall said the government was making progress and doing some good things (down from a quarter in January 2025). This included just over one fifth of those who …
Lord Ashcroft: My latest polling – U-turns, defections, social media, preferred coalitions and Britain and the US
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. For more information on his work, visit
My latest polling looks at the Jenrick defection, government U-turns, social media and internet regulation, and Keir Starmer’s relationship with President Trump. We also ask how people would describe the party leaders and which parties they would want to see in coalition in the event of a hung parliament.
What have people noticed – and who has noticed what?
President Trump’s wish for the US to take over Greenland was the most noticed recent political news story. Domestically, the defection of Robert Jenrick and others from the Conservatives to Reform UK dominated people’s recollections, followed by the government’s change of policy on mandatory digital ID.
Our political map shows what kind of voters were most likely to recall which news. Stories about the defections to Reform appear close to the centre of the map, meaning they were recalled across the board, rather than by any particular kind of voter. News about Trump and Greenland, Venezuela and ICE were most likely to be mentioned by those on the Labour and Lib Dem-leaning left-hand side of the map, while stories including the digital ID U-turn and the retirement of the West Midlands chief constable following the ban on Israeli football fans were most often recalled in the Reform-leaning bottom right quadrant.
The Labour government
When we asked people to name something specific the Labour government had done since being elected in 2024, the most common answers were means testing the winter fuel allowance, lifting the two-child benefit cap, making U-turns, failing to stop small boat migration, and increasing employers’ National Insurance and other taxes.
The winter fuel allowance, the two-child car and employers’ National Insurance were mentioned throughout the electorate. Other tax rises, small boats, cancelled local elections and the Chagos Islands deal were most likely to be recalled by those on the Conservative and Reform-leaning right hand side of the map, while the minimum wage, breakfast clubs, rental reforms and selling weapons to Israel were most likely to be remembered in Labour, Lib Dem and Green voting territory.
Overall, voters were more likely to say that U-turns show a government is weak and has no direction than that it is listening and prepared to admit mistakes. 2024 Labour and Lib Dem voters were slightly more likely to think they showed a government was listening – but more than one third of both groups thought it showed it was weak.
Only one in ten voters overall said the government was making progress and doing some good things (down from a quarter in January 2025). This included just over one fifth of those who …
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