29 May 2020

Keir Starmer opens up clear lead over Boris Johnson in public approval

Those who approve of the Labour leader's performance include more than one in four Conservative voters.

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 30: Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer waits for the session to begin at the start of the first "Call Keir" online meeting, from a room next to his office at Portcullis House, next to the Houses of Parliament on April 30, 2020 in London, England. Mr. Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour party, announced plans to hold virtual meetings with callers from around the United Kingdom to hear about the public impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Keir Starmer is enjoying considerably greater public approval than either Boris Johnson or the government, new polling for the New Statesman has found.

The new Labour leader enjoys a net approval rating of 21 per cent – 20 per cent more than the 1 per cent net approval recorded for Boris Johnson in this month’s New Statesman poll by Redfield and Wilton Strategies.

Those who approve of Starmer’s performance include more than one in four – 26 per cent – of 2019 Conservative voters, 31 per cent of whom disapprove of his performance.

Among Labour voters, meanwhile, he enjoys a towering net approval rating of 54 per cent, with 61 per cent approving and only seven per cent disapproving of his performance.

When asked about the pandemic specifically, a third of voters say Starmer is doing a good job, while 16 per cent say he is doing a bad job. Twice as many voters – 32 per cent – say Labour has not responded well to the pandemic, with the same number taking the opposite view.

The findings also suggest that a large proportion of voters have yet to make their mind up on Starmer. Some 35 per cent neither approve nor disapprove of his performance as leader, while 7 per cent say they do not know whether they approve or disapprove.