The poll, carried out by YouGov for the Times, found that Starmer has an approval rating of 45 per cent while the Tories led by new prime minister Liz Truss trail behind at 28 per cent.

A poll has given the Labour Party a 17-point lead over the Tories, in what is the party’s largest lead over the Conservative Party since Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 2001.

The poll, carried out by YouGov for the Times, found that Starmer has an approval rating of 45 per cent while the Tories led by new prime minister Liz Truss trail behind at 28 per cent.

The findings come after Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous min-budget last week, which in the face of falling living standards and a cost of living crisis, prioritised cutting taxes for the wealthy and lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses.

Rather than helping millions of ordinary people who are struggling with rising costs, the Resolution Foundation reckons that, on average, the richest tenth of households will benefit from the measures by about £4,700 a year, while the poorest tenth will receive £2,200.

There were no announcements on helping those on benefits in the mini-budget, or the most vulnerable. Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, noted: “Higher 45p rate of tax on incomes over £150,000 to be abolished. That is a surprise.” He added: “Helps roughly highest income 1 per cent.”

Labour’s poll lead comes ahead of Starmer’s keynote conference speech, where he will declare that under his leadership, Labour is now “the party of the centre-ground” and ready to form the next government after 12 years of the Conservatives in power.

Starmer is expected to tell the conference that he will “fight the Tories on economic growth” through “ambitious” and “practical” plans for jobs, skills and tackling the climate crisis.

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