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Public think Rishi Sunak would make better PM than Boris Johnson, poll finds

Public think Rishi Sunak would make better PM than Boris Johnson, poll finds
Public think Rishi Sunak would make better PM than Boris Johnson, poll finds

More of the public now believe Rishi Sunak would be a better Prime Minister than Boris Johnson, new polling reveals, though older and core Conservative voters are still siding with their current leader.

Around 37 per cent of the general public asked who they think should occupy Number 10 by Redford & Wilton Strategies between September 22 and 23 opted for Mr Sunak, compared to 34 per cent for Boris Johnson and 28 per cent who were unsure.

It is the first time the Chancellor has come out ahead since the pollster first began asking the question in June and the findings represent the lowest share yet siding with Mr Johnson.

The poll, which also found Mr Sunak to be more popular than Mr Johnson among all age groups except those aged 65 and over, comes as the Chancellor yesterday announced another rescue package for the UK economy on top of previous schemes that first boosted his approval ratings earlier in the year.

Mr Sunak, who unveiled wage top-ups, cash flow support for companies and an extended VAT cut on Thursday, was also found in the poll to be ahead of Keir Starmer for the UK government's top job - and with a slightly larger lead than what Mr Johnson holds over the Labour Leader.

However, the poll shows Mr Sunak lacks strong support from core Conservatives, suggesting the Chancellor may struggle to win over party members in a leadership contest.

"It is worth noting that Boris Johnson is still considerably ahead of Rishi Sunak among those who say they voted Conservative in 2019," said a spokesperson for Redford & Wilton Strategies.

"He leads by even wider margins among those who say they would vote Conservative in another election. As such, the Conservative Party’s voting base is still solidly on the side of Boris.

"But Rishi’s broad appeal among voters for Labour and for other parties is certainly an asset for the party."

Underlying Mr Sunak's popularity is strong performance across a number of leadership attributes, as found by a poll released by Ipsos MORI today.

In particular more people think the Chancellor is good in a crisis than Boris Johnson (54 per cent vs 32 per cent for the PM), has sound judgement (49 per cent vs 30 per cent), is more honest than most politicians (41 per cent vs. 27 per cent), and is less likely to be seen as out of touch (31 per cent vs 58 per cent).

Mr Johnson however is seen by more people as being patriotic (by 68 per cent vs. 48 per cent) and having a lot of personality (67 per cent vs. 33 per cent).

In addition Rishi Sunak beats Keir Starmer on being good in a crisis (by 54 per cent vs. 31 per cent) and having sound judgement (49 per cent vs. 43 per cent).

Despite the battering to the UK economy from the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, the Ipsos polling also shows that Mr Sunak has the highest satisfaction ratings of any Chancellor since the 1970s - the days of Labour's Denis Healey.

As of September 24, around 64 per cent of people said they were satisfied with Mr Sunak's performance as Chancellor - up from 45 per cent in March.

Around 21 per cent said they were dissatisfied, leaving Mr Sunak with net satisfaction of 43 per cent - higher than all of his immediate predecessors and just under Denis Healey's net satisfaction of 46 per cent in a 1976 Ipsos poll.

Commenting on the findings, Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said: "Public satisfaction with the Prime Minister and the Government overall might be drifting down, but for Rishi Sunak his scores are moving in the opposite direction with a near 20-point boost since March.

"His ratings on leadership attributes are also positive, although it should be noted that only last month the public had still to make up their minds whether he had what it takes to be a good PM, despite his popularity.

"We have to go a very long way back in Ipsos MORI’s long-term archives to find a Chancellor with scores this strong, which suggests that at least prior to the latest announcement his policies to deal with the coronavirus have been popular, while continuing public pessimism over the economy has so far not been directed at him."