Majority of Britons unfavourable towards Conservative Party ahead of local elections

• 52% of Britons unfavourable towards Conservatives. 24% favourable.
• 61% of Britons think things are heading in the wrong direction.
• Keir Starmer leads Rishi Sunak on several key leadership traits.

The latest Ipsos Political Pulse, conducted online between April 21st and 24th asked favourability towards the parties and various senior politicians, whether things are heading in the right or wrong direction and what impact Brexit is having on the U.K. We also asked whether various leadership attributes applied to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer, if it was clear what each leader stood for and how likely it was that Keir Starmer would become Prime Minister in the future.

Favourability towards parties and leaders

• 24% of Britons are favourable towards the Conservatives (+4pts from March), 52% unfavourable (no change).
• 36% are favourable towards the Labour Party (-1), 37% unfavourable (+2).
• This means the Conservative’s net favourability score is -28 vs -1 for Labour.
• Net favourability scores are closer for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (-16) and Keir Starmer (-8), although Starmer still scores better on account of fewer negatives.
• 28% of Britons are favourable towards Rishi Sunak (-1 pt from March) and 44% are unfavourable (-1). For Keir Starmer, 30% are favourable (-1) and 38% unfavourable (-1).

Direction of the country / impact of Brexit

• 61% of Britons think things are heading in the wrong direction overall (+3pts from March) and 18% think things are heading in the right direction (+2).
• 55% think Brexit has had a negative impact on the country (+1 from March) and 20% say positive (no change). This marks 6 consecutive months of the proportion saying negative impact being above 50%.

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer in detail

• When we ask whether a series of leadership and other character traits apply to Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, we find that Starmer leads Sunak by 5 points or more on 7 out of 12, whereas Sunak does not lead Starmer by 5 points or more on any.
• For example, Starmer leads Sunak +20 on being in touch with ordinary people, +13 on understanding the problems facing Britain and +12 on being an experienced leader. Starmer also leads Sunak by 9 points on each of being an honest person, going to make the country a better place and sharing my values.
• Starmer leads +6 on being a strong leader, Sunak leads Starmer +4 on being good in a crisis.
• 54% of Britons say it is clear what Rishi Sunak stands for compared to 46% for Keir Starmer, although Starmer’s ratings have steadily improved over time (41% in June 2022, 30% in June 2021.
• Elsewhere in the poll, 50% think it is likely that Keir Starmer will be Prime Minister in the future and 34% think it is unlikely. In November, the equivalent numbers were 46% and 37%.

Keiran Pedley, at Ipsos, said:

Local elections are different to General Elections. Turnout is much lower and not everyone gets a vote (on this occasion Scotland and Wales is not voting at all). We know that local issues play a part in how people vote too. Nevertheless, these numbers do not bode well for the Conservatives. With a majority of Britons unfavourable towards the party and 6 in 10 saying things are heading in the wrong direction, it appears they are heading for a tough night on Thursday.

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,243 GB adults aged 18+. Interviews were conducted online from 21-24 April 2023.  Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.