Starmer’s competence rating is at its highest level since the beginning of 2021
The opinion of the British public’s view of Keir Starmer across five personal characteristics has seen an uplift in the latest YouGov tracking data.
The latest figures show that the Labour leader’s best characteristic is his competence, with 41% saying he is competent compared to 32% who consider him incompetent (a net score of +9). This view has increased since the previous survey in August 2022 when he had a net score of -2 and is at its highest level since January 2021 when he had a net score of +21.
When it comes to trust in Starmer the public are split, with 35% saying he is trustworthy and 34% believing him to be untrustworthy resulting in a net score of +1. This is up from a net score of -9 in August and the first time the difference has been in the positive category since August 2020.
Starmer’s likeability factor among British adults is also split, 35% view him as likeable compared to 37% who see him as dislikeable. While this results in a net score of -2 it’s a marked improvement on the rating of -15 from the previous time the question was asked and at its highest level since the beginning of 2021.
In terms of the British public’s view of Starmer’s decisiveness, the latest results show that 32% see him as a decisive leader while 39% think he is indecisive, giving him a net score of -7 and up 16 points since August.
There has also been an increase in the number of people who see Starmer as a strong leader. Between August and October this year, his net score increased from -27 to -9 with 29% regarding him as strong as opposed to 39% who see him as weak. While this still represents Starmer’s lowest net score across all five characteristics it is also the measure which has seen the largest increase since August, up 18 points.
Keir Starmer outperforms Liz Truss on key characteristics
This latest tracker wave is the first to show how Liz Truss performs across the same characteristics and Starmer greatly outperforms the prime minister on all key attributes.
Only one in nine Britons consider Truss to be likeable (11%) with 65% disliking her, resulting in a net score of -54. There is also a similar gap in terms of trust, with just 12% deeming the Prime Minister trustworthy and 64% untrustworthy, a net score of -52.
The largest gap between the two is the public’s perception of the pair’s competence, with Truss recording a net score of -53.
While Starmer has negative net scores in terms of strength and decisiveness, the public still score Truss more negatively. Only 17% see her as a strong leader compared to 57% who regard her as weak resulting in a net score of -40, and the majority believe she is indecisive (56%) rather than decisive 24%, giving her a net score of -33.
Photo: Getty
