A majority of people on the Sky News YouGov voters panel have expressed a cautious optimism about the new Labour government.
Half of the 46 constituencies represented by our panel changed party in the general election, with two-thirds of our voters backing a different party from their 2019 vote.
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The panel has now delivered its verdict on the election result, which saw Labour win a landslide victory – ending 14 years of Tory rule.
There was some enthusiasm. One former Conservative voter told us: “I’m quite excited to look forward to what the future is going to bring and what this party is going to bring to the table.”
But another described the result as “pretty depressing”. They said: “I’ve never been a Labour voter, pretty sad… but I don’t think they’re going to do anything.”
One former Labour supporter who backed the Greens said: “This has been a not-the-Tories and a pro-Reform vote, rather than a pro-Labour vote.”
We’ve been following our panel throughout most of the election campaign.
The panel members have a range of political views and all were undecided at the start of the election.
One voter said: “Despite the fact that I’m a Conservative, there is a need for change.”
Another told us: “I just hope that they continue to put forward and put into place all the promises they’ve made and avoid putting up taxes too much.”
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“I think the vote does represent change,” one person said. “Change away from incompetence, corruption and indifference.”
Another added: “We’ve had four years of a grossly incompetent government and I say that as a right-leaning individual who doesn’t really like Labour.”
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Several mentioned the rise of Reform UK, including one voter who said: “I’m very grateful that we don’t have proportional representation given the percentage of vote for Reform voters.”
We asked our panel which words they associate with the new government.
Plenty of positive came up – “hopeful”, “different” and “optimistic”.
But also mentioned was “uncertain”, “uninspiring” and “worrying”.
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Sir Keir Starmer made a direct promise to people who didn’t vote for him, but among our panel, not all were convinced.
One Reform voter said: “I’m struggling with the cost of living and with energy prices. It is increasingly difficult and I’m hoping that we can look to Labour to improve our lives.”
Another who voted for the Liberal Democrats said: “I worry too much power in the hands of one single party, I don’t like that, and whether it be Conservative, Lib Dem or Labour.”
But one Conservative voter had this brighter thought: “I think we have to be hopeful for the future, both locally and nationally, and just get behind that this is a time of change, and we have to run with it.”
