The prime minister's net favourability rating hits another record low
With Rishi Sunak on course to lead the party to its worst ever election defeat, according to our MRP, a new YouGov survey shows that his own personal favourability is also plumbing new depths.
Two polls in the last seven days have found fully three quarters of Britons (75%) with an unfavourable view of the prime minister, the highest we have ever recorded. Just 19% have a favourable view of Sunak, giving him a net favourability score of -56, again, the worst we have ever seen for him.
Most 2019 Conservative voters have a negative view of the prime minister (56%), and even one in five who currently intend to vote for his party aren’t fans (22%).
Rishi Sunak is now even less popular than Jeremy Corbyn was at his lowest ebb. The Labour leader’s worst net score came in the summer of 2019, reaching -55, although slightly more have a negative view of Sunak now (75%) than did of Corbyn then (71%).
He also scores worse than Boris Johnson, whose worst ever score came in early July 2022, shortly before his resignation. Johnson had been unpopular with 72% of Britons at that point, with a net favourability score of -53.
It will doubtless be little consolation to Rishi Sunak that he has not yet reached Liz Truss’s record low score of -70 at the end of her very short tenure.
Opinion towards the Conservative party closely mirrors that towards its leader, with just 20% having a favourable view of the Tories compared to 73% with an unfavourable one.
Keir Starmer continues to be far less unpopular than the man whose job he is on course to take. Nevertheless, the 39% of Britons with a favourable view of the Labour leader are still outnumbered by the 52% who have an unfavourable view, giving a net score of -13.
The Labour party fares slightly better than its leader in public opinion terms, with a net favourability score of -6: 43% have a positive view of the party and 49% a negative one.
What do you think about Rishi Sunak, the general election, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here
Photo: Getty
