New lockdown and Corbyn suspension have little effect on favourability ratings for Johnson, Starmer and their parties

The latest Ipsos Political Pulse, a nationally representative online survey of 1,112 Britons, taken over the last weekend (6th – 9th November) shows that favourability towards the two main GB parties and their leaders is largely unmoved despite a new national lockdown in England and Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension from the Labour Party. 

The Conservatives and Johnson

• The proportion of Britons that are favourable (47%) and unfavourable (26%) towards the Conservative Party is unchanged from October – before the new national lockdown in England was announced.
• Johnson’s favourabilty ratings have improved slightly – though remain underwater with a net favourability rating of -21. 30% of Britons are favourable towards Johnson  (+3 points from October) and 49% are unfavourable (+1).
• Rishi Sunak continues to hold more positive favourability ratings than Johnson (and Starmer) with 40% favourable (+1) and 25% unfavourable (+3).
• Sunak enjoys stronger net favourability ratings amongst Conservative voters (+62) than Johnson (+46).

Labour and Starmer

• There are no obvious signs in a change in public favourability towards Starmer following Corbyn’s suspension. 32% favourable (+3 since October, before the suspension) and 29% unfavourable (-1). His net ratings has moved from -1 to +3 in that time but this is a very small move and it is impossible to say whether it is linked to the suspension. 
• 58% of Labour voters are favourable towards Starmer (+5 from October, before the suspension) and 17% are unfavourable (+6). This suggests no net impact on Starmer’s ratings since the suspension and it should also be said that these figures are very similar to those Starmer was getting back in August amongst Labour voters (56% favourable, 13% unfavourable). 

Right direction / wrong direction

• After October’s low, there has been a slight uptick in the proportion of Britons that think the country is heading in the right direction (from 18% to 21%).
• Similarly, the proportion of Britons that think the country is heading in the wrong direction has fallen slightly from 53% to 51%.
• The net rating for right direction / wrong direction now stands at -30. Whilst an improvement from the -35 recorded in October, this is still the second worst figure recorded this year.

Ipsos Research Director Keiran Pedley said of the findings

Despite a fortnight or so of news, with the announcement of a second national lockdown in England and Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension from the Labour Party, there are no signs of events radically altering public perceptions of the main parties and their leaders. Meanwhile, whilst the proportion of Britons thinking that the country is heading in the ‘right direction’ has improved slightly since October, we still look like finishing the year with the country feeling worse about things than when we started back in January.

Technical note:

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,122 British adults aged 18+. Interviews were conducted online from 6thand 9th October 2020. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.