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Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Americans give Trump highest approval rating in months
Advertisement President Donald Trump 's approval rating improved a hair with voters according to a new exclusive Daily Mail/J.L. Partners poll, even as they give him failing grades for his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Forty-nine percent of voters now approve of Trump's job performance as president, up one point from the tracking survey conducted earlier in July. But he remains underwater as 51 percent disapprove of Trump's job performance, down one point from earlier in the month. The margin of error in the survey of 1,007 registered voters is 3.1 percent. The poll numbers suggest Trump is surviving politically during a punishing news cycle consumed by the Epstein files and his administration's failure to disclose them as he promised during his presidential campaign. The president's job approval is up one percentage point from June and remains his highest rating since May. 'The news saga might have seemed terrible for Trump in the last few days, but it isn't having an impact on his approval rating ,' James Johnson, JL Partners co-founder told the Daily Mail. 'In fact, we think it's going up, from 48 percent to 49 percent, making this his best approval rating since May. His ratings with the base is holding up too, unchanged on 91 percent with Republicans,' Johnson continued. But Trump's strong job approval ratings does not carry over to his handling of the Epstein files. Forty-two percent of voters disapprove of his handling of the issue while just 27 percent approve. A significant number of voters, 20 percent, did not appear to care about the case as they neither approved nor disapproved Trump's handling of the issue. In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump referred to the ongoing saga as a 'witch hunt' indicating he was tired of answering questions from the media about it. Despite the president's best efforts to put the issue behind him, few voters believe in the administration's assessment of the case. Only fifteen percent in the poll said they believed the Justice Department's memo released by Attorney General Pam Bondi concluding that Epstein killed himself in prison and that the infamous sexual offender did not have a 'client list' they could release. Forty-seven percent said they did not believe the administration's account of the Epstein case, and that they believed there was more secrets to uncover. Twenty-three percent said they believed the Trump administration memo, but that there was more to uncover in the case. 'This is despite voters disapproving of his handling of the Epstein scandal. What explains the difference? Voters simply do not rate it highly on their list of priorities,' Johnson said. Ninety percent of the Republican voter base continue to grant the president solid approval ratings, despite their misgivings about the Epstein files. The poll was conducted as Trump furiously contested a Wall Street Journal report that he had signed a letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday which concluded: 'Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret,' and featured a hand-drawn image of a naked woman as well as his signature. Trump decried the news article as 'fake' and filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the company. 'They are judging Trump on other issues - such as the economy, the southern border, and how he is actually running the country. Their grumbles on the Epstein handling are not enough for them to turn on their man,' Johnson said.
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Americans give Trump highest approval rating in months despite fallout from Epstein 'witch hunt'
President Donald Trump 's approval rating improved a hair with voters according to a new exclusive Daily Mail/J.L. Partners poll, even as they give him failing grades for his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Forty-nine percent of voters now approve of Trump's job performance as president, up one point from the tracking survey conducted earlier in July. But he remains underwater as 51 percent disapprove of Trump's job performance, down one point from earlier in the month. The margin of error in the survey of 1,007 registered voters is 3.1 percent. The poll numbers suggest Trump is surviving politically during a punishing news cycle consumed by the Epstein files and his administration's failure to disclose them as he promised during his presidential campaign. The president's job approval is up one percentage point from June and remains his highest rating since May. 'The news saga might have seemed terrible for Trump in the last few days, but it isn't having an impact on his approval rating,' James Johnson, JL Partners co-founder told the Daily Mail. 'In fact, we think it's going up, from 48 percent to 49 percent, making this his best approval rating since May. His ratings with the base is holding up too, unchanged on 91 percent with Republicans,' Johnson continued. But Trump's strong job approval ratings does not carry over to his handling of the Epstein files. Forty-two percent of voters disapprove of his handling of the issue while just 27 percent approve. A significant number of voters, 20 percent, did not appear to care about the case as they neither approved nor disapproved Trump's handling of the issue. In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump referred to the ongoing saga as a 'witch hunt' indicating he was tired of answering questions from the media about it. Despite the president's best efforts to put the issue behind him, few voters believe in the administration's assessment of the case. Only fifteen percent in the poll said they believed the Justice Department's memo released by Attorney General Pam Bondi concluding that Epstein committed suicide in prison and that the infamous pedofile did not have a 'client list' they could release. Forty-seven percent said they did not believe the administration's account of the Epstein case, and that they believed there was more secrets to uncover. Twenty-three percent said they believed the Trump administration memo, but that there was more to uncover in the case. 'This is despite voters disapproving of his handling of the Epstein scandal. What explains the difference? Voters simply do not rate it highly on their list of priorities,' Johnson said. Ninety percent of the Republican voter base continue to grant the president solid approval ratings, despite their misgivings about the Epstein files. The poll was conducted as Trump furiously contested a Wall Street Journal report that he had signed a letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday which concluded: 'Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret,' and featured a hand-drawn image of a naked woman as well as his signature. Trump decried the news article as 'fake' and filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the company. 'They are judging Trump on other issues - such as the economy, the southern border, and how he is actually running the country. Their grumbles on the Epstein handling are not enough for them to turn on their man,' Johnson said. While the majority of Republicans, 52 percent, give Trump a passing grade on his handling of the Epstein files, just 13 percent of Independent voters feel the same way. Fifty percent of independent voters in the survey said they disapproved of the way the Trump administration has handled the Epstein files case.
Spectator
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
The looming ‘Islamophobia' scandal
Many people are now terrified to say what they think, voice unfashionable opinions, or even let slip the wrong words, having seen what happens to those who do. As we witness in the headlines with unremitting regularity, uttering something potentially offensive might cost you your job or prompt a visit from the police. This is why so many people are fearful of the proposal to have 'Islamophobia' defined by the state, and this fear is greatest among those who have felt the full force of our new censorial ethos: the British working class. According to a new survey carried out by JL Partners, Angela Rayner's proposal for a new official definition of Islamophobia would hand Reform a 100-seat parliamentary majority at the expense of Labour. The poll of 2,000 adults concludes that bringing in the definition would cause a loss of one million votes to Labour, with a fall in its seats in the Commons from 155 to 103. The survey also found that 37 per cent of Britons felt that protections against hate speech had gone too far, with almost a third saying measures against Islamophobia had also gone too far. Many live in fear of the 'cancel culture' that has evolved in recent decades, one that has established itself firmly in the mindset of those in authority. It is cited as one reason why the activity of the grooming gangs was ignored or enabled. It is said that councillors, the police and politicians were terrified of accusations of racism – accusations that today can ruin careers and shatter lives. Many Britons suspect that a repeat of such a scandal would be made easier were 'Islamophobia' to be codified and applied across the public sector. As the Telegraph reminded us this morning, it was Dominic Grieve, the former Conservative cabinet who is chairing the working group currently establishing the definition of the word, who praised a 2019 report which called the discussion of 'grooming gangs' an example of 'anti-Muslim racism'. Conflating criticism of Islam and the ethnicity of most of its adherents is an inevitable consequence of the definition of 'Islamophobia' produced by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2018. This defined the transgression as 'rooted in racism and… a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness'. This conflation has been allowed to go unchallenged out of combination of lazy thinking and good intentions. The definition was devised by those who hoped that by introducing the spectre of racism, our society's most heinous crime, they could both silence critics of a religion and excuse the behaviour of some who happen to have been brought up in that faith. Earlier this month, the think tank Policy Exchange released a report in which it said that the Muslim Council of Britain's media monitoring unit 'acted in bad faith' by trying to suppress accurate reporting about terrorism, by accusing the media of 'Islamophobic, negative' coverage in their efforts to do so. Activists know the terror that accompanies accusations of racism, and much of the public lives in dread of it, too. This fear is increasingly accompanied by resentment among the white working-class, a feeling that they are disproportionately victimised and punished for their opinions and concerns. The name of Lucy Connolly, the mother sentenced to 31 months in prison after admitting to inciting racial hatred with a post on X, will continue to haunt this government. Her name will continue to be invoked whenever someone receives a lesser sentence for saying something even worse. The cry of 'two-tier justice' has gained traction out of a mood that the Labour government accords different treatment to different demographic groups, a drive borne out of political ideology and naive benevolence. In their well-meaning efforts to promote inter-communal harmony and keep together an increasingly fractious multicultural society, those in authority have either ignored problems or acted with appeasement. These same motives have, in the eyes of many, resulted in rough justice meted out to those deemed to threaten social cohesion or might provoke a breach of the peace. The taboo of 'Islamophobia' epitomises a culture in which subjectivity, 'perceptions' of racism, and the horror of giving or taking offence is moving away from the realm of manners, and into law.
Metro
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Metro
Lowering the vote to 16 won't save Labour from Reform
When the news broke that the government would be lowering the voting age to 16 before the next general election, my first thought was: Finally. My second: Starmer is panicking. Don't get me wrong. I'm fully in favour of votes at 16. You've heard all the arguments before; If they pay taxes, and can join the army, they deserve a democratic say in the decisions shaping their future. But let's not pretend that this 'seismic' reform is being undertaken purely as a matter of principle. Keir Starmer and his team in No 10 did not wake up this morning with a burning desire for youth enfranchisement – this is strategy. Panicked strategy. For Labour advisers, the logic does appear simple: Give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote, and they'll vote Labour. Wrong. Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here. And if Labour still believes that, they've well and truly shot themselves in the foot. The party is, as you might expect, a year into a government defined by 'tough choices', shipping progressive votes to more left-wing parties. But the awkward, data-backed, TikTok-verified truth is that a significant portion of Gen Z is being pulled into Nigel Farage's sphere. Not because his policies have anything concrete to give them (few do), but because he has made himself visible, vocal, and – in their opinion – genuine. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A previous JL Partners poll found that 23% of 16 and 17-year-olds were supporting Reform UK, placing Farage's party second in that age group, just slightly behind Labour. Among young men? Reform was level with Labour at 35%. This is no anomaly. It's a trend. Teenage boys are not sitting around watching Keir Starmer's painstakingly choreographed campaign videos. No. They are watching Farage down pints, mock 'the elites' (despite him being one himself), and posting punchy soundbites from the pub. He is where they are, mostly on TikTok, where he has over 1.3million followers. And where he is, whether he is goading climate protesters or psyched about free speech, he is speaking their language – short-form, crude, and utterly unbothered by traditional truth. It's infuriating. It's dangerous. But it's working. And the Labour Party has fallen hook, line, and sinker into the trap. In attempting to push through this reform in the hope of boosting their electoral map, they risk unconsciously inviting Farage onto new territory, even though he remains officially opposed to the move. On social media, Farage isn't waffling about the public deficit and pensions. He's making himself a meme. A cheeky, jesting uncle who's 'just saying what everyone's thinking'. It's performative politics with punchlines and it's gaining likes. Labour, meanwhile, is presumably expecting 16-year-olds to be so grateful for their new right to vote that they'll express it by voting for a party that has watered down its message on climate, attempted to cut benefits for the disabled, and has remained mostly silent on Gaza. Spoiler alert: They won't. Most youth are already tuned off Labour. You just have to look at the rise in Green support. That same JL Partners poll from last year had the Greens on 18% among 16 to 17-year-olds. And more than a third of 18 to 24-year-olds say they are willing to consider voting for a Jeremy Corbyn-led party, according to a recent YouGov poll. So here we are: Labour, trying to outbid Farage by enfranchising a group that, shock horror, might quite like him. A party seeking to secure its youth vote without having done the political legwork to earn it. It's not just naïve. It's reckless. The irony is that Labour is doing the right thing, morally. Lowering the voting age is long overdue. It's fair. It's a reflection of the responsibilities young people already carry in society. But in doing it for the wrong reasons, they risk losing the very group they're trying to enfranchise. And Farage? He's laughing all the way to the comments. The man has no real policies for youth. No affordable housing strategy. No ideas on tuition fees. No plan for youth mental health, education, or employment. What he offers instead is grievance and swagger, daily and in bite-sized pieces. It's fast-food populism. Do you think Labour have shot themselves in the foot? Yes - 16-year-olds won't vote for them No - they still have big youth support If Labour is to reverse that, it can't be through the process; it needs to be the process. It requires principle. It requires bravery. It requires an end to a party being scared of its own principles and for them to start speaking straight and boldly to young people – telling them what they can have, not what they can't. More Trending Climate justice, affordable housing, international solidarity, economic transformation – these aren't niche issues. They're youth issues. But if Labour continues to triangulate and mumble, it'll keep losing ground. Votes at 16 is not a bad policy. But it's not a silver bullet either. Not when you've got Nigel Farage playing the anti-politics game better than anyone and making young people think he's one of them. Labour can't afford to underestimate him. Again. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: Germany's 6ft 6in Chancellor towers over Keir Starmer – see how other leaders stack up MORE: If you've never watched Star Trek, start with Strange New Worlds MORE: Cain Dingle's grief has been the highlight of Emmerdale's John Sugden story
Spectator
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Votes at 16 won't necessarily benefit Labour
Gerrymandering is as old as the hills, and neither of what have been Britain's two main political parties for the past century has a clean nose. Why did the Conservatives extend the franchise to long-term expats who are not even paying taxes in Britain? And why has the present government just announced that 16- and 17-year-olds will be granted the vote in UK general elections for the first time? Forget any high-mindedness about fairness, encouraging responsibility and so on – these are raw attempts to swing the political arithmetic in the governing party's favour. The only trouble is: has Labour made a fatal miscalculation in assuming that 16- and 17-year-olds will vote for the party? It is received wisdom that the young are more idealistic and left-wing than older people – as per the adage often attributed to Winston Churchill (possibly because of his own political transformation): if you are not liberal at 20 you have no heart, and if you are not a conservative at 40 you have no head. Moreover, it is certainly true that in recent elections age has been a very strong determinant of how people vote: the younger a voter, the more likely they are to have voted Labour; the older a voter, the more likely they are to have voted Conservative. But will that relationship still hold for 16- and 17-year-olds? There have not been many polls asking for the opinions of this age group, but those held over the past year or so ought to fire a strong warning shot over Labour's bows. They appear to confirm a reluctance to vote Tory among young voters, but also suggest that Reform is remarkably popular among this cohort. A JL Partners poll from July last year suggested that 39 per cent would vote Labour, 23 per cent Reform, 18 per cent Green, 9 per cent Liberal Democrat and just 5 per cent Conservative. That, however, was in the week of the last general election, before Starmer and his government had had a chance to become unpopular. Another poll was conducted by Find Out Now in February this year. It ought to be emphasised that it didn't ask 16- and 17-year-olds directly for their voting intentions but instead asked their parents how they thought their children would vote – so it is not necessarily the most reliable of polls. It is also worth adding that today's announcement will have no effect on current 16- and 17-year-olds, as they will all be over 18 by the next election anyway; it is today's 13- and 14-year-olds for whom this will make a difference. Putting that aside, the Find Out Now poll suggested support for Reform at 30 per cent, level with Labour. The Greens were on 17 per cent, the Lib Dems 9 per cent and the Conservatives 7 per cent. The poll also suggested that just over half of 16- and 17-year-olds think immigration is too high – which may help explain their favourability toward Nigel Farage's party. Overall, both polls suggest that received ideas about how 16- and 17-year-olds will vote may be biased towards the views of middle-class students. We think of young people as being woke and left-wing because we hear an awful lot about the antics of student activists. Yet half the population do not go to university and may well be less motivated by woke ideas than by the fear that migrants are taking some of their potential job opportunities. The expansion of the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds could end up being a very big problem for Labour if it means losing the votes of the working-class young. It is also worth noting the strong attraction of the Greens to young voters; that, too, could detract from Labour's vote. The big losers from votes for 16- and 17-year-olds look like being the Conservatives and also the Lib Dems. In times past, the latter used to cultivate young votes through conference votes to legalise dope and the like. But they no longer seem to be cutting through; they have become a party of the middle-aged and middle-class. As to who the winners will turn out to be, that is harder to answer. But it is certainly not guaranteed to be Labour; on the contrary, it could conceivably help Reform into power.
