Sunak narrowly leads Truss on popularity in Scotland

While neither of the Conservative leadership candidates is viewed favourably by the Scottish public, Rishi Sunak is slightly more popular than Liz Truss.

The author(s)
  • Dr. Emily Gray Managing Director, Scotland
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New research by Ipsos, taken 12th-15th August, finds that both Conservative Party leadership candidates are less unpopular among the Scottish public than current Prime Minister Boris Johnson is:

  • One in five Scots (19%) have a favourable opinion of Rishi Sunak, while 15% have a favourable opinion of Liz Truss and 14% a favourable opinion of Boris Johnson.
  • Three in five have an unfavourable opinion of each of the two candidates to be Prime Minister, with 60% unfavourable towards Liz Truss and 59% unfavourable towards Rishi Sunak. 74% hold an unfavourable opinion of Boris Johnson.

To what extent, if at all, do you have a favourable or unfavourable opinion of the following politicians - Johnson Net=-60, Starmer Net=-14, Truss Net=-45, Sunak Net=-40 - asked of 1,000 Scottish adults 12-15 August 2022 - Ipsos

Among those who voted Conservative at the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections, Rishi Sunak leads Liz Truss by 55% to 45%.

Emily Gray, Managing Director of Ipsos in Scotland, commented:

These results show the scale of the challenge the new Prime Minister will face to reverse the Conservatives’ political fortunes in Scotland. Irrespective of whether Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss becomes Prime Minister, though, the new Prime Minister looks set to be a little better positioned to turn things around than Boris Johnson was.

For further politician favourability ratings, see charts and tables below.

Technical note

  •  Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,000 adults aged 16+ in Scotland.
  • Interviews took place online between 12th and 15th August 2022.
  • Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions.
  • Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” categories.
  • All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
The author(s)
  • Dr. Emily Gray Managing Director, Scotland

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