Spring Thaw: Voters Say Rishi Would Make More Capable PM Than Keir
Rishi Sunak's personal ratings have shown signs of recovery after a solid month for the Prime Minister. Ipsos MORI's latest release shows his personal approvals are up 5% on February - with net satisfaction rising by 10%. Keir Starmer sees a comparable downturn - his satisfaction is down 3% and dissatisfaction up 5%. Starmer's net satisfaction is now only marginally ahead of Sunak's - he's on -20% to Rishi's -22%.
This leaves the question of voters' preferred PM - which often carries an incumbency advantage - up in the air. Around 37% think Rishi Sunak would make the more capable Prime Minister, compared to 36% for Keir Starmer. This is Rishi's first lead on the question since November.
Despite Sunak's recovery, the Conservative brand still lags behind their leader. There is only modest evidence of a Conservative recovery in voting intention (Ipsos puts Labour's lead at 23%) as Labour continues to lead the Tories across a range of characteristics - from the extent of divisions to fitness to govern.
Whilst Rishi outperforms the Conservative brand, the opposite is true of Starmer. Overall, voters like the Labour Party - by a margin of 5%. Meanwhile, voters dislike Keir by a net margin of -15%. A majority (52%) report they don't like the Labour leader.
This leaves national polling in a confused place. Despite leading in the polls by a strong double-digit margin, Labour's party leader is comparably disliked to that of a party actively disliked by over two thirds of voters. It's worth watching how this dynamic continues to play out.
