Farage leads, Starmer Struggles: Approval Ratings of the UK’s Main Leaders

As the UK grapples with economic uncertainty, the public’s demand for strong leadership is more pressing than ever. Our latest poll examines the popularity of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, revealing where their core support lies and the potential challenges ahead.

Keir Starmer

Despite winning a landslide victory in the 2024 general election, Keir Starmer faces mixed public approval, with only 28% approving of his overall job performance. Meanwhile, 44% of respondents disapprove, including 32% who strongly disapprove, a concerning figure for a sitting prime minister.

Starmer’s strongest approval comes from Labour voters (56%) and those in London (35%), where Labour’s urban base remains solid. Out of the four main leaders, Starmer is the most popular candidate for those in the 18-34 age bracket where he enjoys over 40% approval. However, he is the least popular leader out of the four leaders for those over 55, where 50% strongly disapprove of him.

Disapproval is particularly high among Reform UK voters (74%) and voters from Yorkshire (47%), perhaps due to his recent farmer inheritance tax policies. While Labour voters still largely back him, 40% neither approve nor disapprove, suggesting a cautious electorate that is waiting to see if Starmer can deliver on his promises.

Kemi Badenoch

New Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has yet to establish strong public support. Despite being only 1% behind Starmer with 27% approving of her leadership so far, the majority of the public neither approve nor disapprove of her leadership (36%). Her biggest challenge is uniting a fractured Conservative voter base, especially after the party’s significant electoral losses in 2024.

While Conservative voters (58%) show the most approval for Badenoch, this is not a resounding endorsement. Surprisingly and similar to Starmer, Badenoch has more support from the youth than the older generation. What’s even more surprising is that those supporting Labour are more likely to approve (32%) than disapprove (30%) of Badenoch, suggesting that even though the majority of voters are still unsure of her, she has a real chance to pick up support in unexpected areas.

Nigel Farage

As the leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage is the most popular leader out of the four main leaders with his approval standing at 37%, a 9 point gap over Keir Starmer.

Reform UK voters overwhelmingly back him (86%) and he enjoys strong support among voters aged 35-44 (37%). Regionally, voters are more likely to approve than disapprove (including London) of Farage in every single region apart from West Midlands, Yorkshire and Scotland who are the most uncertain about him (59%). He particularly does well in both the North West (47% approval) and the North East where a staggering 52% approve of him, which is likely due to concerns over immigration.

What’s most interesting is although the majority of those who voted Labour in 2024 disapprove of him (37%), Farage enjoys 32% approval from Labour voters and 44% from Conservative voters. This hints towards a potential cross-party movement, especially among disaffected working-class voters in traditionally Red Wall seats.

Ed Davey

Finally, despite his efforts to gather attention with a series of publicity stunts, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey still faces a visibility issue, with the highest percentage of voters (42%) neither approving nor disapproving of his leadership. His overall approval stands at 26%, with 20% disapproving.

His strongest backers are Liberal Democrat voters (54%) and those in London and Wales. Meanwhile, his highest disapproval ratings come from Reform UK voters (45%) and older demographics.

A lack of strong sentiment in either direction suggests that Davey is struggling to make an impact on the national stage. Although his party managed to win 72 seats in the 2024 General Election, Davey has clearly been sidelined by Farage unless he can carve out a stronger, more distinct platform.

Download the data tables for this poll.