Public think Keir Starmer is more likely to hold key leadership traits than Rishi Sunak

• Almost all traits more likely to be seen an applicable to Keir Starmer than Rishi Sunak, except being good in a crisis
• Keir Starmer leads Rishi Sunak by double digits or more on being in touch with ordinary people, understanding the problems facing Britain, experience and honesty.

New polling, conducted by Ipsos between 3rd-5th February, shows the public are more likely to apply several leadership traits to Keir Starmer than Rishi Sunak. The Leader of the Opposition leads by ten points or more on being in touch with ordinary people (39% to 20%), they understand the problems facing Britain (50% to 37%), they are an experienced leader (36% to 25%) and being an honest person (41% to 31%).

Meanwhile, Sunak sees a lead of 5ppt when it comes to being good in a crisis, a third (32%) say this applies to the Prime Minister, compared to 27% who say the same for the Labour Leader.

The two party leaders see similar scores regarding paying attention to detail, 42% say Sunak has this trait while 43% say the same for Starmer and being a capable leader, 36% apply this to Sunak and 40% to Starmer. Neither leader appear to be known for their personality with around 1 in 4 applying the trait to both (25% Sunak, 26% Starmer).

Since November 2022, Starmer has seen little change in how the public apply various traits, he has seen an increase in those who say he is good in a crisis (+4ppts), he is a strong leader, he is a capable leader, he is going to make the country a better place, an honest person and he pays attention to detail (all +3ppts).

Meanwhile, Sunak’s scores have generally worsened in that time. The proportion who say the Prime Minister understands the problems facing Britain has fallen by 9ppts while we see falls of 5ppts regarding paying attention to detail, being a capable leader and having a lot of personality. However, we do see increases in the proportion who believe he is good in a crisis (+5ppts) and that he shares their values (+4ppts).

Keiran Pedley, Director of Politics at Ipsos, UK says:

These numbers reflect recent Ipsos polling showing Rishi Sunak’s personal poll ratings weakening slightly in early 2023. Keir Starmer leads the Prime Minister on several key leadership attributes and Labour holds a healthy poll lead overall. Time will tell if the Prime Minister can turn his party’s fortunes around, with delivery on his five key pledges likely to be a key factor in whether he can.

Technical note:

Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,142 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus 3rd-5th February 2023. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.