Labour leads by 14-points, while Rishi Sunak’s ratings remain poor

As Parliament returns from summer recess next week, Opinium’s latest poll has Labour leading by 14-points with 42% of the vote share (+1) vs. 28% for the Conservatives (+2).

The Liberal Democrats are on 9% (-2), Reform UK are on 8% (-1) and the Green Party are also on 8% (+1).

Rishi Sunak will be disappointed to see that his approval rating has not seen any recovery during the summer, dropping 2-points in the last two weeks to -25% net (24% approve, 49% disapprove). Keir Starmer’s approval rating is -7% net (28% approve, 35% disapprove).

Similarly, views on who would make the best Prime Minister have also remained stable – Starmer now leads with 27% choosing the Labour leader, versus 23% who pick Sunak.

Back to school (for some), but parents disappointed by teaching standards

As some children’s return to school looks set to be postponed due to concrete closures, Opinium’s poll reveals a third (34%) of parents of school-age children haven’t seen any improvements in the quality of teaching in schools in the last four years.

Teaching in state schools is deemed to have deteriorated overall since 2019, with 28% saying it’s gotten worse while 23% think it’s gotten better. Voters’ have a slightly more rosy view of teaching in private schools with 19% thinking the quality of teaching has improved since 2019, and 12% thinking it has worsened.

Parents are divided between those that think teachers’ pay is too low (40%) or about right (37%). Only 8% think teachers are paid too much.

Leaving on a high: Shapps scraps the Hydrogen Levy

In a final act as Energy Secretary, Grant Shapps ditched the hydrogen levy, initially slated to be integrated into household energy bills. While this will save households £120 per year, only 13% said they actually knew anything about it and just 27% saying they’d heard of the hydrogen levy before.

However, two in five (60%) support the latest proposal of scrapping the fee on energy bill payers and moving the cost of producing hydrogen to companies that purchase and transport gas. Only 17% oppose this measure.

Adam Drummond, Head of Political and Social Research at Opinium said, “Rishi Sunak’s ratings remain poor and have barely changed since July.

“However, his best performing attribute is still “competence” (where he is only on -10) and, while Labour tends to lead on most issues these days, their lead on managing the economy is smaller than it is on other issues.

“The revision to GDP figures will therefore be good news for No 10 and, while it’s hard to tell voters ‘things are better than you think’, presenting things as gradually improving under a calm but competent leader is still Sunak’s only realistic pathway to victory.”