Keir Starmer’s approval rating slides into negative territory

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Sir Keir Starmer’s approval rating slides into negative territory for the first time since he became Labour leader as Boris Johnson enjoys vaccine boost with nine in 10 voters saying the Government has done a good job on rollout

  • Keir Starmer’s leader satisfaction score fell into negative territory for first time 
  • Some 33 per cent of voters satisfied with Sir Keir’s performance as Labour leader
  • But 42 per cent dissatisfied, giving the Labour leader a net rating of minus nine
  • Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has enjoyed a vaccine boost as nine in 10 back rollout 

By Jack Maidment, Deputy Political Editor For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Sir Keir Starmer’s personal poll rating has slipped into negative territory for the first time since he became Labour leader. 

A new survey conducted by Ipsos MORI found that 33 per cent of people are satisfied with Sir Keir’s performance, down seven points on last month. 

But some 42 per cent said they are dissatisfied, up seven points, giving the Labour leader a net score of minus nine. 

Boris Johnson received scores of 44 per cent satisfied, up two points, and 51 per cent dissatisfied, no change on last month, giving him a net score of minus seven.    

The numbers are likely to cause concern in Labour HQ as Sir Keir prepares to mark his one year anniversary in the top job in April.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson was handed a boost as the survey suggested that almost nine in 10 people believe the Government has done a good job on the coronavirus vaccination drive.  

Boris Johnson

A new survey by Ipsos MORI showed Sir Keir Starmer’s personal poll rating has slipped into negative territory with the Labour leader now scoring slightly worse than Boris Johnson

More Britons now optimistic about economic recovery

More Britons are now confident the economy will improve over the next year, as the success of the vaccination drive fuels hopes of a return to normal life. 

An Ipsos MORI Political Monitor survey found that some 43 per cent of people in the UK believe the economy will improve over the next 12 months. 

That number represents a significant increase of 14 points from last month.

Some 14 per cent said they believe the economy will stay the same, up five points, while 41 per cent think it will get worse, down 19 per cent.

That gives an overall economic optimism index score of plus two, compared with minus 31 last month. 

Ipsos MORI said the overall score is the most optimistic the British public have been on the economy since 2015.

The change from February to March is also the largest month on month improvement, a swing of 16.5 points, since the company’s polling began in 1978.

The surge in optimism came as the Government’s coronavirus vaccination drive continued to exceed expectations.  

The latest Ipsos MORI survey was conducted between March 5 and March 12 and it involved 1,009 adults.  

The numbers suggested that Mr Johnson has seen a slight improvement in the way voters view his handling of the coronavirus pandemic while Sir Keir’s scores have taken a hit. 

Some 43 per cent of people said they believe Mr Johnson has handled the pandemic well, an increase of four points, while 46 per cent said he has handled it badly, no change on last month. 

But for Sir Keir, some 26 per cent said they believe he has handled the crisis well, a fall of six points, with 26 per cent of the view that he has handled it badly, an increase of four points.  

Mr Johnson is ahead of Sir Keir on the question of who would be the ‘most capable PM’, with the former backed by 47 per cent of people and the latter by 37 per cent. 

Some 43 per cent of people agreed that Mr Johnson has what it takes to be a good premier while 45 per cent disagreed, broadly the same as last month. 

When the same question was asked in relation to Sir Keir, some 30 per cent agreed, a drop of six points, while 35 per cent disagreed, an increase of 10 points.          

Ipsos MORI said Sir Keir’s net satisfaction rating of minus nine was better than his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn after his first year in charge and is broadly comparable with that of Ed Miliband and David Cameron’s ratings after one year. 

The publication of the poll comes after Sir Keir faced a bitter backlash from some Labour MPs for ‘wobbling’ over Meghan’s racism claim about the Royal Family and for ‘bungling’ the party’s tax plans.

They said the party leader ‘misjudged’ the public mood by appearing too sympathetic to the Duchess of Sussex’s explosive claims in his first reaction.    

On the question of general election voting intention, the latest survey put the Tories on 45 per cent, Labour on 38 per cent, the Lib Dems on six per cent and the Greens on five per cent.    

The survey showed public satisfaction with the vaccination drive remains high, with 88 per cent of respondents of the view that the Government has done a good job of ensuring jabs are rolled out as quickly as possible, up from 78 per cent last month. 

Some 85 per cent of Labour supporters said they believe the Government has done a good job on the rollout.