Ahead of the budget, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ favourability ratings fall to their lowest levels so far
- Keir Starmer’s net favourability rating stands at -54, his lowest recorded with YouGov to date
- 69% of Britons now have an unfavourable opinion of Rachel Reeves, up six points since October
- Most Labour voters now see Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves negatively
- Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch both have net favourability ratings of -32, largely unchanged from last month
- Zack Polanski and Ed Davey are the only party leaders with positive net ratings among Labour voters
Keir Starmer favourability, November 2025
After yet another difficult month for the government, Keir Starmer’s favourability ratings have again hit new lows. Just 19% of Britons now have a favourable opinion of Starmer, the lowest during his time as Labour leader, while 73% see him unfavourably, the highest to date.
This leaves Starmer with a net favourability score of -54, near-identical to the -53 YouGov recorded for Boris Johnson on the day of his resignation as prime minister and the -55 which was Jeremy Corbyn’s nadir as Labour leader in June 2019.
Nonetheless, Starmer is not currently the least popular prime minister ever: Liz Truss’s final rating with YouGov was -70, while Rishi Sunak recorded -57 during the 2024 election campaign.
Rachel Reeves favourability, November 2025
This decline in the government’s popularity is not limited to Starmer. Ahead of next week’s budget, the proportion of Britons with a favourable view of Rachel Reeves has sunk to 12%, the lowest since she became chancellor. This is against 69% now seeing her unfavourably, up six points since last month and comfortably the highest ever recorded for Reeves by YouGov.
This leaves Reeves with a net favourability rating of -57, which is not just her lowest so far, but is roughly equal to Kwasi Kwarteng’s worst rating as chancellor (-56) in the aftermath of his and Liz Truss’s controversial mini-budget three years ago.
Nigel Farage favourability, November 2025
In contrast, Nigel Farage’s favourability ratings remain largely unchanged from last month, with 30% of Britons having a favourable opinion of the Reform UK leader, against just over double (62%) seeing him unfavourably, giving Farage a net favourability rating of -32.
Kemi Badenoch favourability, November 2025
There has also been no significant shift in opinion on Kemi Badenoch, with an unchanged 21% of the public holding a positive view of her, while a small majority (53%) continue to see the Conservative leader unfavourably.
Badenoch’s net rating in November matches Farage’s, standing at -32.
Ed Davey favourability, November 2025
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has seen a small downturn in popularity: a quarter of Britons (25%) currently see him in a favourable light, down four points since last month and his lowest score since April.
This is, however, not matched by a significant increase in negativity towards Davey, with still around a third of Britons (34%) seeing him unfavourably. Nonetheless, it does leave the Lib Dem with a clearly negative net rating of -9, down from October’s -4.
Zack Polanski favourability, November 2025
Green party leader Zack Polanski continues to make advances, with 20% of Britons now having a favourable opinion of the self-proclaimed ‘eco-populist’, up three points since mid-October. This is roughly matched by 22% of the public seeing Polanski unfavourably, giving him a near-even net score of -2.
Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana favourability, November 2025
Next week, ‘Your Party’ is finally set to be officially launched, following months of speculation, which had initially led to a small boost in popularity for former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, though one which has disappeared amid multiple reports of infighting in the fledgling party.
Today, 23% of Britons have a favourable view of Corbyn, while 63% have an unfavourable view of the veteran left-winger. This gives him a net score of -40, down nine points since his September peak.
Just 11% of Britons have a favourable view of unofficial co-leader Zarah Sultana, while nearly three times as many (30%) see her unfavourably.
Other senior political figures favourability, November 2025
David Lammy’s first two months as justice secretary have not been easy, with a furore over several high-profile of accidental prisoner releases. Half of Britons (49%) now see Lammy unfavourably, up four points since September, while the proportion seeing the deputy prime minister favourably has fallen from 14% to 10%.
His predecessor Shabana Mahmood’s higher profile as home secretary has led to five point increases since September in both the number of Britons who see her favourably (14%) and unfavourably (34%), leaving her net rating unchanged at -20.
Fresh from been caught up in Downing Street briefings about him holding leadership ambitions, one in six Britons (17%) see Wes Streeting in a favourable light, while nearly four in ten (38%) see the health secretary negatively.
Latest political favourability ratings among Labour voters
The depths of the government’s unpopularity are such that even majorities of those who voted for Labour last year now have unfavourable opinions of Keir Starmer (52%) and Rachel Reeves (57%).
Just 42% of Labour voters see Starmer favourably, with approaching as many having positive opinions of Ed Davey (40%), Jeremy Corbyn (38%) and, increasingly, Zack Polanski (up eight points among Labour voters to 35% this month). Most Labour voters (53%) do, though, see Corbyn negatively.
Only a quarter (26%) have a favourable opinion of Rachel Reeves, giving her a net favourability rating among Labour voters of -31.
Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch remain very unpopular among Labour voters, with just 12% and 9% having favourable opinions of them respectively. Three quarters (75%) have an outright very unfavourable view of Farage.
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