Starmer set for ‘catastrophic week’ as Labour vote collapses
The Daily T
The Telegraph
4.1 • 702 Ratings
🗓️ 5 May 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
With 48 hours to go before the local and devolved elections, the verdict seems to be in already: the public hates Sir Keir Starmer and the two main parties – and many will never vote for Labour or the Conservatives again.
That is according to new polling, which also also showed an appetite for NHS reform and higher taxes on big business and the rich. Camilla and Tim are joined by Scarlett Maguire and Lee Cain, the pollsters behind the findings, to understand why the public is losing faith in politics.
Meanwhile, they discuss the state of the campaign trail, with Kemi Badenoch clashing with a pro-Palestine heckler and Zack Polanski’s poll ratings tanking after his row with the police.
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Producers: Georgia Coan and Lilian Fawcett
Senior Producer: John Cadigan
Executive Producer: Charlotte Seligman
Video Producer: Will Walters
Studio Director: Meghan Searle
Editor: Camilla Tominey
Highlights
- New polling shows public disdain for Labour and Conservatives
- Only one in seven will ever vote for traditional parties again
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Telegraph. |
| 0:10.0 | 48 hours until the local elections, but the verdict on Kyr-Stama is already in, and it's devastating. |
| 0:16.2 | People hate him. |
| 0:17.6 | Labor and the Tories face wipeout on Thursday, and those voting for reform and the Greens say they will never, ever go back to their old parties. |
| 0:26.7 | Welcome to the Daily Tea with me Tim Stanley and me, on TerraFerma. |
| 0:44.5 | Are you all right? |
| 0:46.1 | Have you managed to find your whatever it's called, your non-roadshow legs? |
| 0:49.7 | Yeah, that's fine. |
| 0:50.6 | I'm very happy to be back at home. |
| 0:52.4 | How is your bank holiday? |
| 0:53.6 | I decided to walk 17 kilometres, also known as 10 and a half miles, across the Chiltern countryside yesterday, in a 6-kilogram weighted vest. Wow. That's how I spend my free time. Okay. Do you know how I spent mine? No how. I went to Cambridge to interview Dr. James Orr. Yes. It was written up in the paper paper and they put the photo on the front. They did loads of photos of James and then just for one, just to be nice, they did a photo of me with my dog, Bertie and James. And that's the photo they used. It's what the telegraph audience would want. If I had known, I'd have shaved and he would have had a brush. Would he? Because it both really looked bad. You don't want to get that the wrong way around. Shave the dog and brush yourself. I quite like you looking a little rugged. Really? Yeah. It's like now we've entered this new era of your broadcasting career. Yes. It's like Tim Stanley with an afternoon shadow. also judging by some of the fan girling you got last week |
| 1:46.2 | maybe the public also like you semi-bearded. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. They don't want me semi-bearded. I don't know that much. But I had to kill some time and I walked my dog into Cambridge. And I visited my old college Trinity. and as you know to go into these colleges you have to walk through what they call the Porter's Lodge |
| 2:03.0 | which is security. |
| 2:03.7 | I don't hang out in Cambridge colleges I visited my old college Trinity. And as you know, to go into these colleges, you have to walk through what they call the Porter's Lodge, which is security. |
| 2:03.7 | I don't hang out in Cambridge colleges as much as you do. Right. No, I haven't been back for years because I hated the place. Yes, that's right. But I was feeling quite nostalgia because it was warm and bright in the plate. And it's very beautiful. And we walked into the Porter's Lodge, me and my dog, and I said, can I walk around the college? |
| 2:17.1 | I'm a graduate here. |
| 2:18.0 | I should six years here, like a prison stretch. |
| 2:20.9 | And can I walk around the college? I'm a graduate here. Actually, six years here, like a prison stretch. And can I walk around and have a look? And he said, no, you can't. Not with that dog. And I said, what's wrong with a dog? And he said, Elizabeth I first banned them. And quick as a whip, I said, Protestant cow and walked out. You're such a Catholic. I remembered why I hated the place. |
| 2:36.8 | Why did you hate the place? |
| 2:37.3 | Petty fogging rules. And quick as a whip, I said Protestant cow and walked out. You're such a Catholic. |
| 2:51.0 | I remembered why I hated the place. Why did you hate the place? Petty fogging rules. Petty fogging rules. And the porters are like the Starzy. Yes. With both the politics and the porters, it's like living in the East Germany. I don't recommend it. And you once told me that it just wasn't that fun at times. No. It was all work and no play and he didn't enjoy it. Natural scientists and mathematicians. |
| 2:52.8 | She'd have just been a bit more play and you didn't enjoy it. |
... |
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