Sir Keir Starmer looks set to become PM, but polling suggests he has weaknesses to overcome (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer looks likely to become the next prime minister – but latest surveys indicate that voters would be far from happy about it if he does make it to Downing Street.
Labour currently has a comfortable lead in the opinion polls of 20 points after the Conservatives unceremoniously dumped Boris Johnson as leader and then did the same to Liz Truss.
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Despite desperate efforts by Rishi Sunak to turn the tide with promises to slash taxes, cut NHS waiting lists and stop illegal immigrants crossing the Channel, the Tories continue to languish behind Labour.
But YouGov polling has revealed that while Labour is seen as a “preferable alternative” to the Conservatives, voters have low expectations of the current Opposition and its leader.
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And it also reveals Sir Keir’s biggest weakness – his lack of charisma, the trait for which he received a lower rating than any other.
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“The public are driven by a desire to see the unpopular Tories removed from office,” YouGov said in a summary of its recent polling.
But it said its “results show that support for the party is lukewarm”, with its favourability rating a -12 percent – meaning “Labour is still unpopular overall”.
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YouGov added: “Starmer has arguably become a drag on the Labour brand, with his own rating having been consistently lower than his party’s over most of the last year.”
It is currently at -23 percent. That is higher than Mr Sunak at -46 percent, but far lower than the favourability scores Tony Blair and David Cameron achieved before they were elected in 1997 and 2010 respectively.
Even more damaging, only nine percent of those intending to vote Labour have a “very favourable” view of Sir Keir.
And while Sir Keir is ahead of Mr Sunak in who would make the best prime minister, by 34 percent to 23 percent, most said they thought the Labour leader was the best choice because of the Tory leader’s own weaknesses (58 percent). Only 30 percent said Sir Keir was better because of his own strengths.
YouGov also said “expectations are divided” on how well Sir Keir would do as prime minister if elected. One in five expect him to be a great or good PM, while 31 percent expect him to be average and 36 percent believe he would be poor or terrible.
“Recent YouGov research on Starmer’s personal attributes likewise tells a consistent tale – that while generally outperforming Sunak on key traits like ‘competence’, perceptions of him remain lacklustre,” said a summary of the latest findings.
Particularly poor is his rating for charisma, which is at 18 percent, and being decisive, for which he scores 26 percent.
“Despite lukewarm attitudes to the party, Labour is the clear preference for the next government,” said YouGov.
“But when asked whether they think that the running of the country would actually get better under Labour, the number saying that it would falls to 34 percent. And only 26 percent of Britons think that Labour will do a good job at running the country.”
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YouGov concluded its summary by indicating that Labour’s dominant poll lead could be “eroded” because of the underlying weaknesses of the party and its leader.
“Mediocre perceptions of Labour and its leader represent an obvious weakness for the party,” it said.
“Their relative lack of popularity will make for a constant fear in some quarters that Labour are failing to pin down the voters they are bringing over from the Tories, and that their handsome polling lead could be eroded.”
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