LABOUR’S failure to advance progressive policies has been blamed for an increasing majority of Britons accusing the party of damaging Britain’s economy.

Rejecting popular, union-backed calls for wealth taxes and action over corporate profiteering has led to the growing disillusionment among the public, both the Communist Party and Momentum have said.

Ipsos polling published today found that 77 per cent of the public now thinks the economy is “poor,” with 42 per cent blaming the government — only two points below the number who blamed Liz Truss’s disastrous Tory administration for poor economic performance.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic received the most blame, but there has been an 18-point increase in those citing the decisions made by the current Labour government since August 2024, Ipsos found.

Two in five also rated Rachel Reeves’s performance as chancellor negatively, and trust on the economy has narrowed to just six points above the Conservatives.

Britons’ priorities are also now split on whether or not to borrow and cut the national debt, likewise increasing spending on public services via taxation.

Ipsos UK Politics senior director Gideon Skinner said: “While more people overall still blame the Conservatives and other global factors for the poor state of the economy, Labour is now also receiving much more of the flak from the public than they were last summer — the honeymoon is very definitely over.”

Communist Party general secretary Robert Griffiths said: “Public opinion is as confused as it is divided, thanks to the myths and exaggerations pumped out daily by the right-wing mass media, pro-Establishment think tanks, big business and the Labour government, reflected even in the polling questions.

“Key problems such as the role of the financial City of London, corporate profiteering and long-term underinvestment in the productive economy, research and development and green technology are not addressed, nor are corrective measures such as public ownership, heavy taxation of speculation and wealth, selective price controls, direction of capital investment and an end to nuclear arms spending.”

A spokesman for Momentum said: “Instead of promoting a transformative programme to fix the crises in our country, the Labour government resorts to more privatisation and austerity.

“Poll after poll shows voters would rather see mass investment in our public services than a government that focusses on balancing the books.

“To really tackle the surge of the far right, Labour must offer real change.”