Majority of Britons think Burnham is leading a country ‘going in wrong direction’
Andy Burnham’s premiership begins amid widespread national pessimism, with polls showing four-fifths of Britons believe the country is heading in the wrong direction.
The survey stated that only half of Britons are satisfied with their living standards, while confidence in the NHS has fallen.
Ipsos’s state of the nation report, published on Wednesday, found that 83 per cent of Britons believe the country is heading in the wrong direction and needs major changes; this rate was 55 percent in 1989.
The new prime minister must “navigate this highly fragmented, multipolar political environment and rebuild optimism for the future,” the researchers said.
Despite the grim public tone, Mr Burnham struck an optimistic tone in his opening speech at Downing Street on Monday.
He declared that his premiership would be “the moment when Britain begins to believe again, when we bring back hope”.
Mr Burnham was quick to address the cost of living crisis, announcing an £850 million tax cut on household electricity bills.
This marks the first major policy decision as the energy bill reduction comes into effect from 1 October.
Speaking at the opening cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Burnham signaled his immediate priorities, saying his administration would be “the cost of living for the government”.
But Mr Burnham’s optimism contradicts analysis that suggests pessimism and skepticism towards politics has increased since 40 years ago.
Only a quarter (26%) of people these days believe that the best people rise to the top regardless of their start in life, also known as social mobility; this proportion was more than half (52%) in 1989.
While the proportion of people who describe the British character as tolerant is higher in the latest survey (38% compared to 28% in 1988), there is also an increase in the number who think they are pessimistic (31% now, up from 20% in 1988).
Only a fifth of those surveyed said they believed politicians were good people; this proportion was more than one third (35%) in 1989.
Just over half (52%) of people said they were satisfied with their standard of living; this figure was down from almost three quarters (72%) in 1988.
While a majority of Britons still say they support a higher tax system to fund better healthcare, this has fallen from almost eight in 10 (78%) in 1989 to just over two-thirds (67%) in 2026.
Just a quarter of the public described Britain’s 2026 health service as “quality”; That’s a sharp drop from 70% in 1986, reflecting “growing concerns about the state of public services,” Ipsos said.
Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: “Andy Burnham and his team need to navigate this highly fragmented, multipolar political environment and rebuild optimism for the future.
“But it’s not just a matter of delivering more optimistic political messages; they need to deliver real, tangible improvements in people’s daily lives.
“Political leaders also need to engage in authentic, transparent dialogue with voters about the difficult compromises that lie ahead if they hope to convert deep public skepticism back into faith.”
Ipsos surveyed 2,576 people aged 16 and over in Great Britain between March 4 and March 11, 2026.
