Keir Starmer now more unpopular than Nigel Farage — poll
Only 27 percent of Brits now have a positive view of the UK prime minister, his lowest rating since 2021.
LONDON — Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer is now more unpopular than the controversial Brexiteer Nigel Farage, according to fresh polling released Tuesday afternoon.
A YouGov survey of 2,121 adults in Great Britain found that only 27 percent of those asked had a positive view of the Labour PM. That’s his lowest rating with the pollster since Sept. 2021.
By contrast, 63 percent now have a negative view of Starmer, the highest score against him to date. This gives Starmer — who has painted himself as a less-ideological prime minister focused on results — a net approval rating of -36.
The figure puts him just below Farage, the Reform UK leader who has divided opinion in the U.K. during years of Brexit battles. Some 28 percent of people polled by YouGov have a positive view of Farage, compared to 63 percent with a negative view. That gives him a net favorability score of -35.
Farage remains polarizing, however. More people have a “very unfavorable” view of the Reform UK leader than they do of Starmer — 49 percent vs. 41 percent, respectively.
The figures are particularly striking given Labour’s landslide victory at the U.K.’s general election three months ago, in which the party won 411 out of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.
Since entering power after 14 years in opposition, Labour has faced numerous headaches, including over social security cuts for pensioners and a row over donations to top politicians.
Farage became an MP in July on his eighth attempt and hopes to professionalize Reform’s operations so it can target more Labour seats and build on its current tally of 5 MPs next time round.
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