Voters would prefer Keir Starmer rather than Boris Johnson as PM, claims new poll

Labour leader Keir Starmer speaking during Prime Minister's Questions (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA Wire) - Credit: PA

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer would make a better prime minister than Boris Johnson, according to new data.

A survey by polling company Opinium found that 37% of voters thought Sir Keir would be better at leading the country than current Downing Street incumbent Johnson.

A total of 35% thought Tory leader Johnson was the better option to have in charge.

The pollsters said that while Sir Keir had been enjoying a higher approval rating than the prime minister for the past six weeks, it is the first time the former director of public prosecutions has polled higher when asked about who would make the better PM.

Sir Keir replaced Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader in April following a disastrous election defeat for the party in December.


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The Conservatives, according to the results published on Saturday, still hold a four-point lead in terms of voting intentions, despite Sir Keir’s public popularity.

Out of those polled, 43% said they would vote Tory at the next election, compared to 39% choosing Labour.

Both parties are down one percentage point since last week.

The poll also found that there is strong public disapproval of the Government’s latest handling of the Covid-19 crisis, with the majority fearing the lockdown is being eased too quickly.

The survey was carried out in the first week of June and before this week’s confirmation from Johnson that pubs, restaurants and the country’s tourism sector will be able to reopen, albeit with reduced social-distancing measures in place, from July 4.

According to Opinium, 54% of people believe the UK is coming out of lockdown too fast – up eight points from last week.

Adam Drummond, head of political polling at Opinium, said: ‘Boris Johnson’s approval rating remains narrowly negative, while Keir Starmer’s remains substantially positive (moving from a net +22 last week to +27 this week).

‘Politically, the ‘new normal’ is that for the first time in over a decade Labour has a leader who outperforms their party while the Conservatives have a leader who under performs theirs, and the crossover in preferred prime minister is a reflection of that.’

The weighted results are based on an online survey of 2,002 UK adults aged 18 or over, and took place between June 4-5.