Opinium’s latest poll shows Labour’s lead over the Conservatives at 15 points, with 42% (-1) vs. 27% for the Conservatives (n/c). The Liberal Democrats are on 10% (n/c), Reform UK are on 10% (+1), the Greens on 7% (n/c) and SNP remain on 3% (n/c).
Keir Starmer’s approval rating appears to have recovered from a dip last week, and is now back to -7% net (32% approve, 39% disapprove). Rishi Sunak and Ed Davey’s approval ratings remain unchanged:
Views on who would make the best prime minister have remained stable, with Starmer retaining a 10-point lead over Rishi Sunak (33% vs 23%). A third (34%) still choose “none of these”.
Israel & Palestine
Following the chaotic scenes at the UK parliamentary vote on the Gaza ceasefire, public dissatisfaction with the responses of Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, and President Biden regarding the war continues to show a notable consistency, with further declines observed since November.
All three leaders currently hold a net approval rating of -13%, with specific breakdowns as follows: Sunak (21% approve, 34% disapprove), Starmer (20% approve, 32% disapprove), and Biden (18% approve, 36% disapprove).
Overall, the public still think that neither UK leader has shown sufficient support for the citizens of Gaza. However, Labour’s change in position has shifted views on Starmer, whose net ‘shown sufficient support’ figure has increased slightly from -27 points to -21 points.
A fifth of respondents believe that each of Sunak (21%) and Starmer (19%) have provided sufficient support, while over two fifths —44% for Sunak and 40% for Starmer—feel they could do more.
When looking at whether Rishi Sunak has provided sufficient support to Israel and Israeli citizens, over a third (34%) feel he has, whereas a quarter (25%) think he could show more support. When asking the same question about Keir Starmer, a third (30%) think he has provided sufficient support to Israel and Israeli citizens, compared to over a quarter (27%) who think he could show more support.
James Crouch, head of public affairs and policy at Opinium said, “The current conflict in the Middle East is incredibly challenging for the Labour leader to respond to.
“Despite the chaos in the Commons, Keir Starmer’s approval ratings seem to have partially recovered after a big drop in recent weeks. As the conflict continues to wage, it appears that the Leader of the Opposition is successfully navigating a difficult middle ground between the competing demands of his MPs and voters.”
