Nearly half of Britons approve of Jenrick sacking, Ipsos poll reveals

New data from Ipsos in the UK’s Political Pulse survey, taken November 16th – 19th (in the wake of Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform UK) reveals that almost half (47%) of Britons think Kemi Badenoch made the right decision to sack Robert Jenrick and remove the Conservative party whip.

Jenrick defection

• 13% of Britons have a favourable opinion of Robert Jenrick, with 53% unfavourable (net -40).
• Kemi Badenoch has a net favourability of -27. 21% are favourable, with 48% unfavourable. Although Kemi Badenoch has a better net favourability rating, around half of Britons have an unfavourable view of both her and Robert Jenrick.
• Two in five (42%) Britons think that the Conservative party and Reform UK are similar to each other. This includes 22% of Reform UK voters, 34% of Conservative voters, and 59% of Labour voters.
• Almost half (47%) of Britons think Kemi Badenoch made the right decision to sack Robert Jenrick and remove the Conservative party whip. This includes 45% of Reform UK voters and rises to almost seven in ten (69%) of Conservative voters.
• However, Britons are most likely to say that Robert Jenrick’s defection has not made a difference to their views of either the Conservative party (55%) or Reform UK (46%). 

Favourability towards politicians

• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has a net favourability of -26, down from -21 last month. 26% of Britons view him favourably and 52% unfavourably.
• Prime Minister Keir Starmer's net favourability stands at – 42, up slightly from -44 last month (17% favourable, 59% unfavourable).
• 22% hold a favourable view of Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, while 35% are unfavourable, giving him a net score of -13 (down slightly from -8 from last month).
• Two in ten (20%) are favourable towards Green Party leader Zack Polanski, while 35% are unfavourable (net -15, down slightly from -13 last month).  

Favourability towards political parties

• Two in ten (21%) are favourable towards the Labour party, with 57% unfavourable (net -36).
• Reform UK has a net rating of -24, similar to -19 last month. Nearly three in ten (27%) hold a favourable view of the party, with 51% unfavourable.
• 19% express a favourable view of the Conservative party, with 53% unfavourable (net -34, down slightly from -29 last month).
• The Green Party’s net rating is -9, similar to -10 last month. 27% are favourable towards the party, while 36% are unfavourable.
• The Liberal Democrats are at -15 (down slightly from -12 last month). 22% express a favourable view and 37% unfavourable.

Keiran Pedley, Director of UK Politics at Ipsos said: 

While Kemi Badenoch's decisive action against Robert Jenrick wins public approval, notably, it hasn’t led an obvious spike in her favourability ratings. Meanwhile, it is unclear what sort of asset, if any, Robert Jenrick’s defection will be to Reform UK. A majority of the public are unfavourable towards him, and most do not have an opinion either way on how his defection will impact their view of Reform.

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,138 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted online between the 16th – 19th January 2025.
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.