Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s ratings improve since last month, while Nigel Farage and Donald Trump have become less popular
The recent developments in the war in Ukraine have placed various political figures under the spotlight, with British prime minister Keir Starmer praised for his hosting of a peace conference in London, Donald Trump criticised for his argument with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage questioned for his backing of the controversial president.
The number of Britons with a favourable view of Starmer has increased in the last two and a half weeks from 26% in mid-February to 31% in our latest poll, while the proportion with an unfavourable view of the Labour leader has fallen from 66% to 59%. This pushes his net favourability score down to -28, its lowest level since September last year.
Starmer’s ratings have improved among voters from all four of the largest parties.
By contrast, Farage’s numbers have worsened, with a quarter of Britons (26%) now having a positive view of him, down from 30% in mid-February. This is against two-thirds of the public (65%) seeing Farage in a negative light, up from 60%.
Farage’s latest net favourability score of -39 is 11 points lower than Starmer’s, a noticeable contrast from February’s ratings, which gave Farage a net advantage over Starmer of 10 points.
Nonetheless, while Farage’s ratings have fallen, more Britons still have a favourable opinion of him than Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. Just one in five Britons (19%) see the leader of the opposition positively, up two points on last month. This is against half of Britons (49%) seeing Badenoch unfavourably, down two points.
A quarter of Britons (25%) have a favourable view of Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, compared to three in ten (31%) seeing him in a negative light.
How do Britons see Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
Eight in ten Britons (80%) now have an unfavourable view of Donald Trump, up from 73% two weeks ago, while the number of Britons with a positive view of the US president has correspondingly fallen seven points to 15%.
Donald Trump’s favourability has taken such a knock that he is now unpopular overall among Reform UK voters. The proportion with a negative view of the president has risen fully 25 points to 53% since mid-February, while the number with a favourable view has fallen from a commanding 66% to just 45% now.
By contrast, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has increased in popularity, with the proportion of Britons with a favourable view of the Ukrainian leader increasing from 64% to 71%.
Again, the shift is largest among Reform UK voters, among whom he is now more popular than Donald Trump. The number with a favourable view of Zelenskyy has increased from 49% to 62% over the last fortnight, while those with an unfavourable view has declined from 37% to 27%.
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