Keir Starmer scores highest ratings of any Opposition leader since Tony Blair in mid-90s

EXCLUSIVE Gap between parties has narrowed, with Conservatives on 43 per cent and Labour on 38
Sir Keir has the solid backing of 80 per cent of Labour supporters
PA
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Sir Keir Starmer has scored the highest ratings of any Leader of the Opposition since Tony Blair set out on the road to Labour’s biggest ever landslide election victory, an exclusive poll reveals today.

The Ipsos MORI survey revealed that, barely two months into his post, the new Labour leader has transformed the political picture in Britain by matching the early performance of the man who went on to become a triple general election winner.

Sir Keir not only outscores immediate predecessors Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband, who both lost elections, he also overtakes the equivalent net score of David Cameron who went on to become Prime Minister and leaves behind former Tory leaders William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard.

Today’s wide ranging research shows the gap between the parties has narrowed, with Conservatives on 43 per cent (down nine points since March), Labour on 38 (up eight) and the Liberal Democrats on 10 (up one).

Some 51 per cent are satisfied with Sir Keir’s performance, while just 20 per cent are dissatisfied
PA

It reveals the public are deeply divided over the Government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.

And, narrowly, Mr Johnson wins a run-off between him and Sir Keir over who makes the “most capable Prime Minster” by 43 per cent to 38.

Strikingly, Sir Keir has the solid backing of 80 per cent of Labour supporters, unlike Mr Corbyn who often divided his potential voters.

Boris Johnson wins a run-off between him and Sir Keir over who makes the “most capable Prime Minster” by 43 per cent to 38 
via REUTERS

Key findings include:

  • Some 51 per cent are satisfied with Sir Keir’s performance, while just 20 per cent are dissatisfied. The net score of +31 is the best recorded in the Ipsos MORI Political Monitor, which is the longest-running such poll in the country, since Blair who achieved +30 in March 1995 and +31 in December 1994.  Blair won the 1997 election with a majority of 179 - the biggest landslide since before World War II. Cameron’s scored +23 in April 2009, with 52 per cent satisfied and 29 dissatisfied. Unlike Mr Corbyn, Sir Keir has a net positive score among Conservatives (satisfied 42 per cent, dissatisfied 28).
  • Boris Johnson scores 48 per cent satisfied (down four points since March) and 49 per cent dissatisfied, (up 11), a net of -1.  But these are better ratings than he had at the height of the Brexit wars last year - and a solid 84 per cent of Conservatives are behind him.
  • More people think Boris Johnson has handled the Covid-19 epidemic well (45 per cent) than badly (42 per cent), albeit this marks a decline since March when the divide was 47-38 in his favour.
  • Chancellor Rishi Sunak gets the highest Cabinet score for handling the pandemic, with 60 per cent favourable (up 19) and 14 per cent unfavourable (up one). Even 54 per cent of Labour supporters think he has done well, following cash help for furloughed workers and struggling firms.
  • Chief medical officer Chris Whitty scores 58 per cent well (up six) and 16 per cent badly (up two).  He outscored Health Secretary Matt Hancock who gets a positive overall score of 42 per cent well (up three) and 37 badly (up 14).

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said: “Labour will of course be encouraged that Keir Starmer is achieving comparable leader satisfaction ratings to Tony Blair and David Cameron when they led the opposition, as both went on to become General Election winners.

Sir Keir has comparable leader satisfaction ratings to Tony Blair in 1994 and 1995, ahead of his landslide election victory in 1997
PA

“However this is still very early days – it’s not unusual to see a honeymoon period for a new leader. And there is an important difference – Boris Johnson is still more popular than John Major and Gordon Brown were when Blair and Cameron achieved their best scores.

“With concerns about the economy and the coronavirus high, how the two leaders handle these over the next few months will be crucial.”

Ipsos MORI interviewed 1,059 adults across GB by phone, from June 5 to 10. Data are weighted. Full results at www.ipsos-mori.com

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