Majority of Britons have an unfavourable opinion of the Conservative Party

The Ipsos Political Pulse for November 2022 shows Rishi Sunak just trailing Keir Starmer when it comes to favourability.
  • Whilst Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer record similar favourability ratings – public much more favourable towards Labour than the Conservatives
  • Meanwhile, no change in public favourability towards Matt Hancock following I’m a Celebrity appearance

The latest Ipsos Political Pulse shows Rishi Sunak just trailing Keir Starmer when it comes to favourability. While the Labour Leader is seen favourably by 32% of Britons, 29% view Sunak in the same way while 38% have an unfavourable opinion of Starmer and 39% Sunak. This gives Starmer a net score of -6 and Sunak a score of -10.

To what extent, if at all, do you have a favourable or unfavourable opinion of the following politicians and political parties? (% Favourable / Net favourable) Keir Starmer 32% / -6 Rishi Sunak 29% / -10 Jeremy Hunt 19% / -24 Suella Braverman 13% / -35 James Cleverly 12% / -22

The two party leaders have significantly better scores than other leading politicians:

  • The current Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt scores -24 with 1 in 5 viewing him favourably (19%) while the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman scores -35 with only 13% saying they have a positive opinion of her.
  • Despite his appearance on the latest series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Matt Hancock has seen no improvement in his favourability ratings, 56% viewed him unfavourably when he resigned in June 2021, now 59% have the same opinion now.

To what extent, if at all, do you have a favourable or unfavourable opinion of Matt Hancock (% Favourable / Unfavourable)? 25-28 November (After appearance on I’m a Celebrity...) 15% / 59% 25-28 June 2021 (After resignation as Health Secretary) 17% / 56%

Party Favourability

Unfortunately for the Conservatives, Sunak’s relative popularity does not translate into opinions of the party itself. With a current net score of -32, just 1 in 5 (20%) have a favourable view of the Conservative Party, 52% negative, down from 56% in October. Meanwhile, Labour score just -1, with 37% positive and 38% negative and little change since last month.

To what extent, if at all, do you have a favourable or unfavourable opinion of the following politicians and political parties (% Favourable / Unfavourable)? Labour 37% / 38% Greens: 24% / 33% Liberal Democrats: 21% / 36% Conservatives: 20% / 52%

This means the Conservatives score lower than any other party on this list  with the Green Party scoring -9 (24% favourable and 33% unfavourable) and the Lib Dems scoring -15 (21% favourable, 36% unfavourable).

Direction of the country

Just over 3 in 5 Britons now believe the country is heading in the wrong direction (62%), falling slightly from 69% in October. Fourteen per cent say the country is heading the right way, up from 9% last month.

Generally speaking, do you think things in Great Britain are heading in the right direction or wrong direction? Right direction 14% Wrong direction 62% Neither 16% Don't know 8% Net right direction -48%

Keiran Pedley, Director of Politics at Ipsos, said:

These numbers show the extent of Rishi Sunak’s challenge as he seeks to win the Conservatives a fifth consecutive term in office at the next General Election. Whilst his own personal poll ratings are solid and comparable to his opposite number Keir Starmer, 6 in 10 Britons think things are heading in the wrong direction and a majority are unfavourable towards the Conservative Party itself. Numbers that do not point to re-election for the governing party.

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,089 Britons aged 18+. Interviews were conducted online from 25-28 November 2022.  Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.

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