Jeremy Corbyn’s leader image ratings slip

• Jeremy Corbyn’s leader image ratings slip
• Ruth Davidson leads other Conservative Cabinet Ministers as Prime Ministerial material in eyes of public

More Britons have become dissatisfied with Jeremy Corbyn according the latest Ipsos Political Monitor. The poll reveals a third (32%) say they are satisfied with the Labour leader doing his job (down 5 points from March) while three in five (59%) say they are dissatisfied with him (up 7 points) leaving Mr Corbyn with an overall net satisfaction score of -27.  This is his lowest score since May 2017.

Theresa May’s satisfaction scores have also decreased, but by a more marginal amount. Thirty-eight percent say they are satisfied with the Prime Minister doing her job (down 3 points) and 55% are dissatisfied (up 3 points) – leaving her with a net satisfaction of -17. A quarter (28%) say they are satisfied with Vince Cable as leader of the Liberal Democrats with 35% dissatisfied – yet 37% say they don’t know.  Fieldwork was carried out before the events of this weekend.

Theresa May is also more popular amongst her own party supporters. Three quarters (77%) of Conservative voters say they are satisfied with her (up 3 points), while Jeremy Corbyn has lost support from Labour voters with three in five (60%) satisfied in their leader (down 11 points).

When weighing the qualities of the party leaders on a list of detailed image attributes, Theresa May has remained stable on most since last September while Jeremy Corbyn’s scores have tended to get worse. The poll finds:

• Forty-six percent say Theresa May is a capable leader (up 1 point since September 2017) vs. 32% for Jeremy Corbyn (down 6 points)
• Forty-three percent say Theresa May is “good in a crisis” (up 3 points) vs, a quarter (25%) for Jeremy Corbyn (down 5 points)
• Two in five (41%) say Theresa May “has sound judgment” (up 5 points) vs. 31% for Jeremy Corbyn (down 9 points)
• Half (50%) say Theresa May “understands the problems facing Britain” (up 1 point) vs. 47% for Jeremy Corbyn (down 5 points)
• Two-thirds (64%) say Theresa May is “out of touch with ordinary people” (down 2 points) vs. 39% for Jeremy Corbyn (up 7 points).
• Sixteen percent say Theresa May “has got a lot of personality” (down 5 points) vs. 39% for Jeremy Corbyn (down 8 points)
• Forty-four percent say Theresa May “has a clear vision for Britain (down 1 points) vs. 45% for Jeremy Corbyn (down 2 points)
• Three quarters (73%) say Theresa May is “patriotic” (up 1 point) vs. 44% for Jeremy Corbyn (down 2 points)
• Two in five (40%) say Theresa May is “more honest than most politicians” (up 4 points) vs. 47% for Jeremy Corbyn (down 8 points)
• Three in ten (31%) say Theresa May is “more style than substance” (down 5 points) vs. 27% for Jeremy Corbyn (down 1 point)

The Ipsos poll also asked Britons whether or not various politicians have what it takes to be a good Prime Minister. Theresa May has the highest score with 44% thinking she has what it takes, but 47% still disagree – and this is down from her score in July 2016 when 55% agreed and 27% disagreed. Still she remains better viewed than Jeremy Corbyn where three in ten (30%) agree he has what it takes with 58% disagreeing – although this is an improvement to his July 2016 score when 23% agreed and 68% disagreed. The poll also shows:

• Three in ten (29%) think Ruth Davidson has what it takes to be a good Prime Minister while another 29% disagree
• Seventeen percent think Boris Johnson has what it takes (down 4 points since July 2016) with 72% disagreeing (up 2 points)
• Twelve percent think Michael Gove has what it takes (down 1 point since July 2015) while 60% disagree (down 7 points)
• One in nine (11%) think Amber Rudd has what it takes while half (52%) disagree
• Six percent think Gavin Williamson has what it takes while a third (34%) disagree – four in ten don’t know

This month’s Political Monitor also reveals that the public are less pessimistic about the economy than they were in March with 46% saying it will get worse in the next 12 months (down 8 points). Twenty-eight percent say it will stay the same (up 6 points) while 23% say it will improve (up 1 point), giving an Ipsos Economic Optimism Index of -23.

Our ongoing voting intention figures show the two main parties still running close with the Conservatives at 41%, Labour at 40%, and the Liberal Democrats at 10%.

Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research at Ipsos, said:

Jeremy Corbyn’s ratings have had their ups and downs since he was elected leader.  After a decline in 2016 they rose remarkably during the election campaign, where they stated for a while – but in recent months they have started to dip again.  He is better viewed than Theresa May on ratings such as being honest, having a lot of personality and being less out of touch, but she leads on attributes such as patriotism, being a capable and good in a crisis.
Meanwhile, Ruth Davidson’s success in Scotland is being noticed south of the border too – even among Labour supporters, who are much less negative about her than about many other Conservative politicians.  But many still don’t know much about her – which side of the fence they fall is likely to be key.

Technical Note

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,004 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone 20th – 24th April 2018.  Data are weighted to the profile of the population.