Rishi Sunak faces a battle to beat Sir Keir Starmer as the candidate of change at the next general election, a poll has revealed.
The Ipsos survey for the Evening Standard found 40 per cent of the public say they trust the Labour leader most to deliver the change Britain needs if he becomes the next prime minister.
For Mr Sunak, who has sought to present himself as a changemaker, the figure is 26 per cent, with 22 per cent saying neither, and 11 per cent “don’t know”. The poll’s other key findings were:
- Labour maintains a 20-point lead in Westminster voting intention, on 44 per cent, with the Tories on 24 per cent, Liberal Democrats up a point from last month to 13 per cent and the Greens up one to nine.
- Mr Sunak’s personal satisfaction rating is up four points to 26 per cent, compared to last month, with dissatisfied down three to 63 per cent, giving a net score of minus 37.
- Sir Keir’s score is virtually unchanged, with 30 per cent satisfied, 53 per cent dissatisfied, a net result minus 23.
- 35 per cent say he would make the most capable PM, compared with 31 per cent for Mr Sunak — almost identical to last month.
- Rachel Reeves leads Jeremy Hunt as who would make the most capable chancellor, by 41 per cent to 29 per cent.
- The Conservatives have closed the gap with Labour as best party on managing the economy. They are on 30 per cent, level-pegging with Labour on 29, which had a five point lead in June (29/24). This is the Tories’ best score since April last year.
But Labour is ahead as the best party on most other policies including health care (39 per cent to 17), cost of living (37/20), asylum and immigration (26/19), education (34/20), housing (40/14) and transport (32/16).
The Tories have improved on health care (plus six since June) and cost of living (plus five), but transport is now a clear Labour strength amid the HS2 controversy and strikes. The Tories are only ahead on defence by 30 per cent to 18 per cent, and are on 23 per cent on crime, compared with Labour’s 25 per cent.
Keiran Pedley, Ipsos director of politics, said: “These findings show the scale of the political challenge the Prime Minister faces as he looks to reverse the Conservatives’ recent struggles at the ballot box. Whilst there are some crumbs of comfort in the data for Mr Sunak, the big picture remains unchanged. The Conservatives will need a significant change in the public mood to stay in office after the next general election.”
Eight in 10 said they were dissatisfied with the way the Government was running the country, no change from last month. Two thirds disagree that the Tories deserve to be re-elected, a similar figure to last month, with just 19 per cent agreeing they do.
Labour supporters have become more likely to say they have definitely decided how to vote, up from 51 per cent last month to 58 per cent, while among Tory backers the figure has gone down from 50 per cent to 47 per cent.
