Corbyn still more popular than May but his ratings fall

Matthew SmithHead of Data Journalism
August 17, 2017, 4:56 PM GMT+0

While the Labour leader is seen less favourably by the public than he was immediately following the election, he is still ahead of the Prime Minister

Having pulled ahead of the Prime Minister in the favourability stakes for the first time ever in early June, two months later Jeremy Corbyn is still more popular than Theresa May, although the gap is closing.

YouGov’s latest political favourability survey finds the proportion of Britons with a favourable view of the Labour leader has fallen from 46% in mid-June to 38% now, while those with an unfavourable view has risen from 46% to 51%. This leaves the Labour leader’s net favourability rating at -13 (from +0 in June).

Corbyn remains more popular than Theresa May, however. The Prime Minister’s ratings have improved slightly since June, with 31% now having a favourable view of her and 58% an unfavourable view (from 29% and 63% respectively the last time YouGov asked). May’s net favourability rating stands at -27, up from -34 in the last poll.

Perceptions of the two leaders’ parties have followed the same trajectory: Labour’s net favourability rating has fallen from +6 to -7, while the Conservatives’ has improved from -21 to -18.

This is the first favourability survey since Vince Cable’s election as leader of the Liberal Democrats in late July. The newly installed leader enters the favourability ratings with a net figure of -27: 18% have a favourable view, 45% have an unfavourable view (36% say don’t know, more than three times as many as for Corbyn or May).

That data shows that Cable is currently running ahead of his party, which has seen a decline in its favourability among the public from -20 in mid-June to -33 now.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

See the full results here