Two thirds of Britons do not have confidence that the government is running the country with integrity or competency

•    Half of Britons (51%) think that Nigel Farage tells the truth not very often or never, 46% for Starmer.
•    Nigel Farage leads on several key leadership characteristics, including understanding the problems facing Britain
•    63% think Keir Starmer is out of touch with ordinary people

London, UK. New data from Ipsos taken April 24th – 28th  reveals that two thirds of Britons do not have confidence that the UK Government are running the country with integrity, nor properly, competently and seriously. 

Integrity and trust

66% of Britons do not have confidence that the UK Government is running the country with integrity (-3 from Feb ‘26) , nor that they are running it properly, competently or seriously (-2). Both of these ratings are comparable to the perceptions of the Conservative government when Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister. 

In terms trust in politicians:

•    Half of Britons think that Nigel Farage (51%) tells the truth not very often or never (+1 from Feb ’26).
•    Just under half of Britons (46%) think Keir Starmer tells the truth not very often or never (-7 from Feb ’26). Starmer’s ratings are in line with Rishi Sunak’s when he was Prime Minister (47% in August 2023), but are as bad as Boris Johnson’s (60% in February ’23, 61% in August ’22). 
•    43% think that Government Ministers tell the truth not very often/never (-4 from Feb ’26). A quarter (26%)  say the same of their local MP (-4 from Feb ’26), while 45% say the same of MPs in general (-4 from Feb ’26).

Leader image

Britons were asked what characteristics are most important when considering what makes a good Prime Minister. The key characteristics are:

•    Understanding the problems facing Britain (64%)
•    Having the right plans for Britain (61%)
•    An honest person (59%)
•    Being in touch with ordinary people (58%).

Of lesser importance are: 
•    Having a lot of personality (13%)
•    Being a likeable person (20%)
•    An experienced leader (25%)
•    Shares my values (30%)

Overall Farage leads on seven of these attributes, Ed Davey leads on four, Starmer leads on three, and Badenoch on one. In terms of the key attributes: 

•    Nigel Farage is seen as the party leader who most understands the problems facing Britain (38%), followed by Badenoch (33%), Starmer and Davey (32%), and Polanski (28%). 52% of Britons do not think Starmer understands the problems facing Britain.
•    Farage also leads on having the right plans for Britain (28%), followed Starmer and Badenoch (24%), Polanski (22%) and Davey (21%). However over half think Farage (52%) and Starmer (55%) do not have the right plans for Britain.
•    Ed Davey is seen as the most honest person (32%), followed by Badenoch (26%), Starmer and Polanski (24%), and Farage (20%). 55% do not think that Farage is an honest person, 52% do not think Starmer is honest.
•    Ed Davey (32%) has a slim lead over Farage (31%) for being touch with ordinary people, followed by Polanski (28%). 19% think Keir Starmer is in touch with ordinary people (Badenoch 22%). 63% of Britons do not think Keir Starmer is in touch with ordinary people.
•    25% think Starmer acts with integrity and 20% think he has sound judgement. 
o    Starmer ranks lowest out of the leaders for having sound judgement. Kemi Badenoch leads on 25%
o    Ed Davey leads on acting with integrity (32%), followed by Badenoch on 26%, Starmer and Polanski on 25%, and Farage on 23%. 

In terms of whether is clear what each party leader stands for:

•    60% of Britons think it is clear what Nigel Farage stands for (-4 from Sep ’25).
•    36% of Briton think it is clear what Keir Starmer stands for (+1), over half (55%) think is not clear (+2).

Britons are clearer on what Kemi Badenoch, Zack Polanski, and Ed Davey stand for compared to September 2025:

•    45% think it is clear what Kemi Badenoch stands for (+12), 43% think it is not clear (-8)
•    43% think it is clear what Zack Polanski stands for (+8), 41% think it not clear (N/C)
•    39% think it is clear what Ed Davey stands for (+6), 45% think it is not clear (-2).

Notes to Editors:
•    For media queries, please contact Owen Evans at [email protected] 
•    For the full findings, please visit the Ipsos website.
•    Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,105 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted online between the 24th – 28th April 2026. 
•    Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.