Starmer’s trade deal triumphs fail to impress UK voters
With Sir Keir Starmer’s approval ratings languishing below those of both the Reform UK and Conservative leaders, Downing Street would have hoped that signing trade deals with India and the US last week could have turned the dial on the PM’s unpopularity.
However, despite the diplomatic coups voters appeared unmoved by Starmer’s success on the world stage, according to the latest City PM Freshwater Strategy poll of UK voters.
The poll finds that while a majority of voters (44 per cent) support the tariff reduction deal inked between the US and UK, just under 60 per cent say the news failed to alter their perception of Keir Starmer.
The PM went up in the estimations of 15 per cent of voters, while 22 per cent said the deal worsened their view of him.
The UK-US trade deal was seen by many in Westminster as a triumph for Starmer, with the UK leaping to the front of the queue, becoming the first country to broker a trade agreement with the US after so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs were announced.
UK steel and aluminium were provided with the biggest respite, having seen tariffs slashed from 25 per cent to zero.
The UK car industry, which had initially been subjected to 27.5 per cent tariffs, saw a concession for the first 100,000 cars exported to the US, which will be taxed at ten per cent (everything after gets 25 per cent). In 2024, Jaguar Land Rover alone exported 101,000 vehicles to the US.
UK voters have their say on trade deals
The UK-India trade deal, meanwhile, saw tariffs on UK car exports to India drop from 100 per cent to just ten.
Scotch whisky will see a hike in sales, to the tune of £1bn over the next five years, boosting jobs in the sector.
The Department for Business and Trade estimates that the deal with India is particularly favorable for UK companies, as UK exports will rise by 59 per cent by 2040 (worth £15.7bn), whereas Indian imports to the UK will see a 25 per cent rise (worth £9.8bn).
Despite these terms, the deal’s reception among voters was mixed. While just over half of voters back the deal, the biggest stumbling block was the provision for Indian workers to be exempt from national insurance contributions for the first three years of work in the UK.
According to the poll, while half of voters were not aware of the details of exemption for Indian workers, 44 per cent were familiar with it and a majority of those (53 per cent) opposed the provision.
According to Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, the UK already has 16 agreements encompassing over 50 countries which prevent double taxation on workers.