Sir Keir Starmer has been branded more “robotic” than human in a bombshell poll examining how Britons view leading politicians and the way they communicate. Polling by More in Common and Grayling found that 60 per cent of respondents viewed the Prime Minister as “robotic”, compared with just 17 per cent who saw him as “human”. In Yorkshire, a key battleground ahead of the next General Election, that figure rose sharply, with 70 per cent describing Sir Keir as having robotic tendencies in his communication style. By contrast, the survey of 2,000 adults showed Nigel Farage is perceived as more human, with 41 per cent holding that view of the Reform UK leader. Meanwhile, just 17 per cent described the MP for Clacton as robotic. Responding to the poll, a Reform UK spokesman said: “In Keir Starmer, we have an uninspiring Prime Minister with no guiding principles and no vision for the country.” “The polling shows that the public sees him for exactly what he is.” Other senior figures, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, are seen as less human than Sir Keir Starmer, with just 16 per cent viewing her in that way. However, she is not regarded as quite as robotic as the Prime Minister, with 53 per cent describing her as such. Labour’s strongest performer with the public is Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, with 31 per cent seeing him as human. The figure was just 10 points behind Nigel Farage but nearly double the Prime Minister’s rating. Speaking to GB News, CEO of Grayling Heather Blundell said: “Our exclusive research reveals that politicians face a fundamental challenge in how they communicate with the public.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
“Brits broadly see our political leaders as robotic and inauthentic – exactly the opposite of what they seek from online voices: humanity, candour, and relatability.” Ms Blundell explained: “As social media increasingly becomes the space where Brits are most likely to see politicians, their style of communicating may become further from what the public are seeking. “Instead of scripted interviews, politicians need to embrace a wide range of online channels to communicate their humanity and relatability.” Meanwhile, More in Common’s executive director Luke Tryl told the People’s Channel: “In an age when increasing numbers of people are communicating daily with AI chat bots, the importance of politicians being able to differentiate themselves by speaking like human beings has become even more important.” Mr Tryl added: “Appearing robotic reinforces perceptions that politicians don’t really say what they believe and are instead reading from a script.” Recent Ipsos polling reveals that 49 per cent of Britons believe Keir Starmer has “changed Britain for the worse,” while a recent MRP poll ranks him as the worst Prime Minister ever. A separate Ipsos survey from September also revealed that 45 per cent of respondents see Mr Farage as “in touch with ordinary people,” compared to just 26 per cent for Sir Keir. This gap may cause concern within No10 over the Prime Minister’s public appeal. Body language expert, Judi James, said: “His tone is very Dalek, and his delivery lacks any natural qualities.“This shouldn’t need to be a huge problem for a political leader if it is backed by a powerful charisma that might be alpha, but it isn’t.” But Labour MP Graham Stringer has called on the Prime Minister to “focus” if his party is to improve its standing in the opinion polls. He told GB News: “The Prime Minister is not going to change his personality. He needs to focus on improving the Government’s performance, if he succeeds his ratings will improve.” GB News has approached the Government for comment.