Keir Starmer has seen an 8 point drop in his net approval rating in the last two weeks, according to Opinium’s latest polling.
Currently just over a fifth (22%) approve of the Prime Minister’s job performance, down from 25% a fortnight ago, with the majority (54%) disapproving (up from 50%).
This gives a net rating of -32%. His Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is viewed similarly by the public, with only 18% approving and 49% disapproving, giving her a net rating of -31%.
Other party leaders’ ratings remain steady:
| Approve | Disapprove | Net approval | Change from 13-15 Nov 2024 poll | |
| Keir Starmer, Prime Minister | 22% | 54% | -32% | -8 |
| Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party | 22% | 28% | -6% | -1 |
| Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats | 22% | 21% | 0% | -3 |
| Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK | 29% | 38% | -9% | -1 |
| Rachel Reeves, Chancellor | 18% | 49% | -31% | N/A |
In terms of voting intention, Labour remains the top pick, with 29% saying they’d vote for Labour if there was a general election tomorrow, while 25% choose Conservatives, 21% would pick Reform UK and 10% would opt for the Liberal Democrats.
Best party to help with housing costs
With the Bank of England announcing that millions of mortgage holders could see their payments increase over the next three years, more people think the Conservatives would be the best party to help reduce mortgage costs (22% vs. 20% for Labour). However, almost two in five (37%) choose neither party.
Labour is, however, seen as the best party for handling other housing related areas:
| Labour | Conservative | Neither | Labour lead | Labour lead in September | Change in Labour lead | |
| Reducing the costs of mortgages | 20% | 22% | 37% | Con +1 | Lab +6 | -7 |
| Reducing the costs of renting | 25% | 17% | 40% | Lab +8 | Lab +16 | -8 |
| Housing for first time buyers | 24% | 20% | 36% | Lab +4 | Lab +11 | -6 |
| Housing for low-income households | 30% | 16% | 36% | Lab +13 | Lab +19 | -6 |
| Long-term planning for future housing | 25% | 18% | 37% | Lab +7 | Lab +11 | -4 |
Views on taxes, spending on public services and benefits a month on from the Budget
Since the Budget on 30th October, the proportion saying the government should increase taxes and spending on public services has dropped marginally, from 26% to 24%, while the proportion saying to cut both has increased from 17% to 23%.
Regarding benefits, the public largely believes that most groups do not receive enough support. However, since Opinium last asked this in May 2024, people think these groups are generally receiving more support than they used to.
| Enough support or too much support | Not enough support | NET | NET in May | Change in net | |
| Low-income individuals or households | 40% | 46% | -6% | -9% | +3 |
| Parents with dependent children | 49% | 35% | +14% | +7% | +7 |
| Disabled adults | 35% | 50% | -15% | -26% | +10 |
| Informal / unpaid carers (for adults caring for family members or close friends) | 24% | 64% | -40% | -47% | +6 |
| Unemployed adults | 56% | 29% | +26% | +14% | +12 |
| People who are long-term out of work or economically inactive because of a long-term health condition, illness, or disability | 44% | 41% | +3% | -10% | +12 |
| Economic migrants | 66% | 15% | +51% | +44% | +7 |
A plurality believe a US trade deal would lower UK food and farming standards
Two in five (41%) believe a trade deal with the US is likely over the next 4 years, while 29% believe that it is unlikely.
A plurality believe that such a deal would lower UK food and environmental standards, and that lower quality US food imports would harm UK farmers:
| Definitely or probably would happen | Definitely or probably wouldn’t happen | |
| It would lower UK food and environmental standards | 46% | 27% |
| Lower-quality US food imports would harm UK farmers (such as chlorinated chicken) | 53% | 21% |
| It would harm UK access to EU trade | 36% | 29% |
| It would boost trade between the UK and US by up to £15 billion | 37% | 25% |
| It would help UK businesses to innovate and become more competitive | 39% | 28% |
| Increase US investments in key UK industries (such as technology) | 43% | 25% |
Adam Drummond, head of political and social research at Opinium said, “After a brief improvement post-budget, Keir Starmer’s ratings are back below -30 and Labour’s scores on various issues are down.
“That being said, Starmer still leads Kemi Badenoch as ‘best prime minister’ and the Conservatives remain behind on most issues. Five months after the country sacked the last government, it simply seems they don’t notice much in the way of improvements and are losing faith in the replacements they hired.
“Voters, and the government, must be hoping that things can only get better.”
