Opinium’s latest poll reveals that the Labour lead sits at 17 points, compared to 15 points a fortnight ago. Labour have 43% (+1) of the vote share, while the Conservatives are on 26% (-1).
The Liberal Democrats are on 11% (+1), SNP is on 3% (no change), the Green Party has 6% (-1) and Reform UK has 9% (+1).
Both Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak’s approval ratings have taken a hit over the past fortnight, with Starmer’s net approval dropping to -9 from -3, and Sunak’s approval rating dropping to -32, down from -25 in Opinium’s last poll.
Keir Starmer leads by 7 points on who would make the best Prime Minister 29% (-2), compared to Rishi Sunak on 22% (-1) – however, the most common response from UK voters was ‘none of these’ (36%).
Tories let Labour and Starmer off the hook this week
The Labour Party and Keir Starmer have taken some big hits to the public’s perception of them, likely due to the response to the conflict in Israel and Gaza, with headline voting intention showing that the Conservatives have not benefited from this big hit to the opposition’s ratings.
The Labour party has seen a big drop over the past month in perceptions of being united (net -8%, down 18 points from +11% in early October) and being tolerant (net +6%, down 12 points from +17% in early October).
Additionally, Keir Starmer has seen a big drop over the past month in perceptions of being able to get things done (with a net score of -5%, down 10 points from +4% in early October) as well as on being a strong leader, with Starmer having a net score of -8% (down 10 points from +2% in early October).
Conflict in Israel and Gaza
Following the ongoing Israel and Gaza conflict, how the UK and Western leaders have responded to the conflict has received muted disapproval from the public, with a third (28%) disapproving of the way Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak (29%) have handled this so far, compared to only 19% who approve for Starmer, and a quarter (25%) for Sunak.
Similarly, a quarter (26%) disapprove of the way Joe Biden has handled the conflict, compared to 21% that approve.
Overall, the public feels that Keir Starmer (39%), Rishi Sunak (41%) and Joe Biden (36%) have all come across as weak in how they responded to the conflict, compared to a smaller percentage of the public who think that Starmer (24%), Sunak (28%) and Biden (26%) have come across strong in how they responded.
Armistice Day protest
Almost half (48%) of UK voters think the decision to go ahead with the Pro-Palestine march over the weekend is unreasonable, vs a third (35%) who think it’s reasonable. However, people are divided on whether the march should have beev banned, with 42% revealing they think the police should have applied to have it banned, whilst 36% think they should not.
James Crouch, Head of Policy & Public Affairs at Opinium said: “The government seems to have let Labour off the hook on what could have been a very difficult week for the Opposition. Labour’s response to the conflict in Middle East has made the party look less united, and Starmer look much weaker than before. However, by the end of the week the news had moved onto Conservative divisions and indecision, leaving the door open to a 17-point Labour lead in the polls.”
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