Negativity towards Sunak and Conservatives rises to highest level this parliament as 3 in 5 say party is having a bad campaign

• 61% are unfavourable towards both Rishi Sunak and the same number are unfavourable towards the Conservative Party. 
• 3 in 5 say Conservatives are having a bad general election campaign.

Ipsos’ latest General Election campaign tracker finds that 61% of Britons are unfavourable towards Rishi Sunak and the Conservative party – the highest levels for both this parliament. Both Sunak and the Conservative party have net approval ratings of -41.

By contrast, 42% of Britons have a favourable view of the Labour party versus 38% unfavourable, leading to a net approval rating of +4. 37% also have a favourable view of Keir Starmer, down two points from last week. However, his net favourable rating of -1 is the highest it has been since Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister. 

Elsewhere, half (50%) of Britons are unfavourable towards Reform UK, the highest percentage of this campaign. 24% are favourable towards Reform leader Nigel Farage and 53% are unfavourable. This is a net approval rating of -29, the lowest of the party leaders polled.

Who would make the better Prime Minister?

Elsewhere in the poll, Keir Starmer extends his lead over Rishi Sunak when the public are asked to consider who would make the better Prime Minister. 39% say Starmer (+5ppts), versus 18% (+1 ppt) for Sunak. Starmer’s lead of 21 points is the highest of this campaign. 

Four in five (79%) also say that it is unlikely that Sunak will win the election, his worst rating since becoming Prime Minister.

Most important issue

Healthcare and the NHS continue to be the main issue that the public say will be very important in deciding their vote, with 63% saying it is very important to them (N/C). This is followed by inflation/the rising cost of living (53%) and managing the economy (40%). 

Health and immigration are tied as the most important issue for 2019 Conservative voters (both at 61%). Health is the most important issue among those who voted Labour (79%), followed by inflation / the cost of living (55%).

Alongside this, 63% think the country is heading in the wrong direction compared to 18% who think Britain is heading in the right direction (net -45).

Keiran Pedley, Directors of Politics at Ipsos, says of the findings:

With just over a week to go before polling day, our latest campaign tracker shows that Rishi Sunak and the Conservative party are as unpopular as they have been at any point this parliament. With Keir Starmer preferred to Sunak as Prime Minister and three in five saying the Conservatives are having a bad campaign, there is not much good news for the Conservatives in these numbers.

Technical note 

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,070 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone between 21-24 June 2024. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.