Rishi Sunak as unpopular as Boris Johnson was when he quit No10, poll shows

13 December 2023 , 11:41

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Rishi Sunak is as 'unpopular' as Boris Johnson was in his final days in office (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak's popularity has fallen to the same levels as Boris Johnson suffered in the dying days of his leadership.

The former Partygate PM resigned last summer after his MPs finally abandoned him over the allegations of sleaze and scandal that dogged his time in No10. The revelation he knew about groping claims against ex-Tory whip Chris Pincher before he promoted him proved the nail in the coffin of his chaotic time in office.

New polling from YouGov shows Mr Sunak's ratings have now plunged to his lowest ever net favourability score of -49, a ten-point drop from late November, and in the range of Mr Johnson's dismal ratings. The ex-PM's score was -46 after he resigned from office, sinking to his lowest point of -53 a month later. Mr Sunak's only comfort will be that his ratings are still not as bad as Liz Truss’s lowest score of -70.

Mr Sunak will be breathing a sigh of relief that he managed to pass his flagship Rwanda bill through the Commons last night in the face of opposition from his own MPs. But he must face the fact that his public opinion woes have only been getting worse.

Asked in polling conducted on Monday evening/Tuesday morning – ahead of the Commons vote – seven in ten Britons (70%) said they had an unfavourable opinion of Mr Sunak, compared to only 21% with a favourable view - giving his lowest ever net favourability score of -49 . It also means that, just over a year after becoming PM, his popularity has now plummeted to the same level of his party (also -49). It had been the hope of many Tories that the prime minister’s more favourable ratings previously would drag the party upwards.

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Keir Starmer’s net favourability rating has fallen nine points to -22 over the last fortnight, with 32% of Britons holding a positive opinion of the Labour leader outweighed by the 54% with a negative one.

YouGov surveyed 2,001 adults in Great Britain between 11-12 December 2023

Sophie Huskisson