More Britons favourable towards Nigel Farage than Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey

The latest edition of the Ipsos Political Pulse survey, taken between the 7th and 11th of February, looks at public opinion towards several key political figures and issues facing the country.

• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage holds a net rating of -15. 31% of Britons hold a favourable view of Farage (+5), while 46% are unfavourable (-5).  The 31% favourable towards Farage is the highest number recorded by the politicians in our poll.
• Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a net favourability rating of -34. 21% hold a favourable view (-4 from January) and 55% unfavourable (+3). 
• Approval for Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is slightly higher, with a net rating of -30, though she is less well known. 18% hold a favourable view, while 48% are unfavourable. Last August – the most recent time Ipsos asked about Rayner – her scores were 33% favourable and 36% unfavourable. 
• Rachel Reeves sits at -39, the lowest net approval rating of any politician included this month. Just 14% express a favourable view of the Chancellor (-3 from January) and 53% unfavourable (+3).
• Leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch holds a rating of -29, with 16% favourable (no change) and 45% unfavourable (-1).
• Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey holds a net rating of -12, although his favourability has decreased by 4 pp since January. 21% hold a favourable view of Davey, while one third (33%) are unfavourable (+6). 
• Beyond Westminster, US President Donald Trump has a net favourability rating of -32, with a quarter (25%) of Britons holding a favourable view while 57% are unfavourable.

• The Labour Party holds a net favourability rating of -28. 24% are favourable towards the party of government (-5 from January), while just over half (52%) are unfavourable (+2).
• The Conservative party continues to hold the lowest net favourability rating of any party polled at -34. Just two in ten express a favourable view of the party (19%, -1 from Jan), with 53% unfavourable (-4).
• Conversely, the Green party has the highest net favourability rating at -5. 27% are favourable towards the party (-1), while 32% are unfavourable (+3). 
• The Liberal Democrats sit at -12. 23% express a favourable view (-4 from Jan) and 35% unfavourable (+5).
• Reform UK sits at -14. Three in ten (30%, +3)) of Britons hold a favourable view of the party (the highest of any party included in the survey). However, 44% hold an unfavourable view (-5).

Government performance

• A significant majority (62%) of Britons continue to believe the country is heading in the wrong direction (N/C since January). 15% say right direction.
• When asked to score the government’s performance on a scale of 1-10, the mean score overall is 3.5 (down from 3.7 in January). 
• Overall, almost half (47%) of Brits think the government is doing a bad job at running the country (scoring the government between 0-3). 28% give the government a moderate score between 4 and 6, while just 18% give it a higher score between 7 and 10. 
• Britons aged 18-34 score the government highest at 4.9, while those aged 55+ score the government lowest at 2.7. 
• Those who voted Labour score the government highest at 5.5, followed by Liberal Democrat voters at 4.4. Conservative voters give the government 2 out of 10, while Reform UK voters rate it just 1.5.

Keiran Pedley, Director of UK Politics at Ipsos said:

This polling shows the relatively competitive position Nigel Farage holds versus other party leaders. More Britons are favourable towards Farage than Starmer, Badenoch or Davey. However, these poll findings were taken before Donald Trump’s recent comments about Ukraine, so it remains to be seen whether these – and Nigel Farage’s response – impact the numbers moving forward.

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,248 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted online between the 7th-11th February 2025. 
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.