Here’s how Keir Starmer can win back Labour voters, according to Ed Miliband

Ed Miliband has recalled his own popularity struggles after a major poll revealed a drop in support for Sir Keir Starmer among voters.

The energy secretary spoke to Metro at the Labour Party conference after the Prime Minister’s make-or-break speech today, which saw Sir Keir woo the audience with some jokes, praising the working classes and fire jabs at Nigel Farage and Reform.

But just hours before the PM’s big speech, a YouGov poll said the government’s popularity had taken a hit, even among Labour voters.

It showed that 53% of those who voted for Labour in last year’s General Election now disapprove of the government’s track record after one year in power.

When asked what it would take for people to start liking the Prime Minister, Mr Miliband said polls should be taken with a pinch of salt.

He told Metro: ‘Can I say one thing about this: polls are a snapshot, not a forecast.

‘When I was Labour leader – it’s hard not to talk about this – but I was 15 points ahead in the opinion polls.

‘But it won’t have escaped your notice, I didn’t become Prime Minister.

‘So, polls show one snapshot of opinion at a particular moment in time.’

Mr Miliband, who is Sir Keir’s long-term ally, continued:’The country is hurting.

‘I think the country is hurting because the way our economy has been run for much of the last 40 years, which people have felt – whether it’s young people not getting housing, or it’s people not having good jobs, or people struggling with the cost of living, living standards squeezed and public services cut.

‘Rather than poll watching, I think it’s about the country and looking at what the country needs, and making a difference.’

He also said politicians need to spend less time talking about themselves to win back voters – but he refused to give the government’s performance a football score like the London mayor Sadiq Khan did.

After joking about ‘not getting into football scores,’ Mr Miliband said ‘it is about the country.’

‘Politicians talk too much about themselves. My focus in my job is: we’ve got a mission, it’s about clean energy, it’s about good jobs, it’s about cutting bills, it’s about doing the right thing for future generations,’ he said.

‘We are holding to that vision, that was the vision we were elected on, and it’s my job to implement it – not thinking about polls or even football scores.’

‘Global far-right is the biggest threat to net zero’

Mr Miliband told Metro that the biggest threat to net zero right now is a ‘global far-right network.’

He has vowed to fight Reform UK’s ‘anti-clean energy jobs stance,’ saying that ‘Reform’s war on the future would betray every young person in our country and every person yet to be born.’

Climate campaigners have called for a higher tax on frequent fliers and on private jets, which produced around 19.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 and account for around 4% of civil aviation’s overall emissions, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation.

When asked about possible tax hikes on frequent fliers and private flights in the upcoming autumn budget, Mr Miliband confirmed there are ‘no plans for new taxes on flying,’ adding that any tax decisions are up to the Chancellor.

The energy secretary announced the government’s clean energy jobs plan in a bid to double the sector from 430,000 jobs to 830,000 by 2030 withmore engineers, researchers, welders, electricians and construction workers hired.

He will also announce an expansion of the scheme to install more solar panels on school and hospital roofs, which will benefit 250 schools and over 270 NHS sites across the UK.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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