Rishi Sunak’s early days as Prime Minister improved confidence in the Conservatives, but according to a poll, the party is still expected to lose the next election.
According to an Ipsos poll, 34% of people trusted Mr Sunak’s long-term economic plan, which was twice the amount who trusted Liz Truss.
Some 38% of respondents believe Mr Sunak to perform a good job as Prime Minister, which is slightly higher than the 36% who expect Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, whose popularity has dropped since Ms Truss’ resignation.
“The public are less antagonistic to the Conservatives’ economic policies than they were under Liz Truss, and there is little to choose between Sunak and Starmer on who the people think would make a good Prime Minister,” said Ipsos director of politics Keiran Pedley.
However, a poll of 1,000 adults conducted at the beginning of November – prior to Gavin Williamson’s resignation – found Mr Sunak to be unpopular.
More over half of those polled indicated they were sceptical that the Conservatives could give the country with strong and stable leadership in the long run.
Only 27% predicted Mr Sunak would win the next general election, while 46% thought Sir Keir would be prime minister, up from 28% at the start of the year.
Sir Keir’s Labour Party also outperformed Mr Sunak’s Conservatives in 12 of 14 policy categories, including behaving with honesty, strengthening public services, and immigration management. Mr Sunak’s party was ahead in terms of economic growth, while the two were tied in terms of having the right foreign policy.
Mr Pedley said: “There are still signs that the Conservative brand is in trouble, evidenced by the fact that a hypothetical Labour government under Starmer is seen as much more likely to deliver on public priorities around the cost of living and improving public services.”
