Labour’s response to the recent riots and disorder in the UK has garnered strong support from the general public, according to recent opinion polls. Despite facing criticism from some social media figures, the government’s handling of the situation has been widely praised by the electorate.
On the other hand, both Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have seen a decline in their approval ratings post-riots. Sunak, in particular, remains unpopular with an approval rate of -30%. Starmer, who experienced a surge in approval in July, now holds a net score of -7%. However, the majority of the public still approves of the government’s response to the unrest, with a 43% – 31% split on approvals and disapprovals.
Additionally, recent data from Savanta shows that both the police and Starmer are perceived to have handled the situation well by a majority of participants. Yvette Cooper and the government as a whole have also received favourable scores from the public.
In the realm of Conservative politics, the leadership race appears to be off to a quiet start. Priti Patel has emerged as a narrow favourite, with a public approval rating of 7-9%. Other contenders such as Tom Tugdenhat, James Cleverly, and Kemi Badenoch lag behind with approval ratings ranging from 5% to 6%. Candidates like Mel Stride and Robert Jenrick are struggling to gain support, with only 2-3% of respondents backing them.
Interestingly, a significant portion of those surveyed (23%) indicated that they would not choose any candidate from the current field, opting instead for the ‘None Of The Above’ option. Even among Conservative voters, only Patel manages to match the total for NOTA, tying with 9% approval. It seems that Patel is currently leading the race, albeit with some uncertainty surrounding her advantage.
