Poll to Poll

As the world this week marked the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, YouGov published polling looking at what the public across the UK feel about the conflict. Whilst 81% of those questioned said they wanted Ukraine to win, YouGov notes that three quarters say it matters to them who ends up winning the war. This included 44% saying it mattered “a great deal” . Among those wanting Ukraine to win, this figure is 53%. The same proportion, 53%, agreed that Ukraine should be supported in its efforts against Russia “until such a time that Russia withdraws from the country, even if this means the war and its effects last longer”. YouGov continues: “Only 23% say “to encourage a negotiated peace to end the fighting, even if this means Russia still has control over some parts of Ukraine”, while 8% said neither option came close to their preference. The remaining 16% are unsure.” Overall, 52% of those polled said that Western countries were not doing enough to prevent Russ...

Rishi Sunak has registered his weakest favourability ratings since becoming Prime Minister according to new polling by Ipsos Mori. It reports that whilst the Labour Leader, Keir Starmer, has a net favourability score of -7, Rishi Sunak’s has sunk to -19. With Boris Johnson continuing to breathe down Rishi Sunak’s neck, Ipsos goes on to note: “More than half of 2019 Conservative voters are favourable to Johnson (55%) while 49% say the same for Sunak. Overall, among 2019 Conservative voters, Johnson scores +29 while Sunak scores +23.   However, Johnson’s lead owes more to falling ratings for Mr Sunak rather than improving ratings for the former PM.” Looking at the parties as a whole, Labour has a net favourability rating of +2 with the Conservatives on -29. When it coms to Brexit, 55% of respondents told Ipsos that leaving the EU had had a negative impact on the country, with just 21% saying it had been positive. It continues: “If we subtract the proportion saying Brexit has...

For polling geeks out there, such as me, today is like a feast with a huge amount of data to pour over. Let’s start with Opinium’s latest polling for The Observer.     When it comes to headline voting intentions across the UK, Opinium gives Labour a 16-point lead with 44% saying they would vote Labour at a general election, followed by 28% saying they would vote Conservative. Just 18% of those questioned said they approved of the way the Government is handling the Brexit process. In contrast, 56% disapprove of it. Delving deeper, the figures show that 41% of those who voted Conservative at the 2019 election disapprove of the way the Government is handling Brexit, a figure which rises to 45% among all those who voted leave in the EU referendum.   Overall, 72% of those surveyed said they felt that Brexit had gone either worse than they had anticipated or plain badly.   With Nicola Sturgeon having announced her resignation this week, 64% of those questioned by...

Following a week which saw the shock announcement from Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, that she plans to stand down, polling out this week appears to suggest that Labour’s hopes that this might make its path back to Downing Street easier may be coming true. According to a poll by YouGov for the Scottish Election Study carried out just before Ms Sturgeon made her announcement,   among all those Scots questioned aged 18 and over, when it comes to voting intentions for a UK General Election, 29% said they would vote SNP, down 2 points since November last year. Scottish Labour meanwhile were in second place, on 27%, up 4 points. With those who said they would not vote, did not know how they would vote or refused to say taken out, the results put Scottish Labour on 35.4%, just behind the SNP on 38.2%. To make matters worse for the SNP, 48% of those polled now believe Scotland is heading in the wrong direction, compared to 29% saying it is going in the right direction....

This week the US President, Joe Biden, delivered his annual State of the Union address to Congress, the first since the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in November’s mid-term elections. Whilst all eyes were on Washington, the speech provided an opportunity for Americans as a whole to consider what they think of the state of the union, and, whether Joe Biden should re-stand as the Democrat candidate for President in 2024. Fortunately, this week has seen a number of polls published answering just those questions. According to CNN’s flash poll following the speech 72% of those who watched it had a positive reaction to the President’s address, with 34% reacting very positively. In a sign that Biden’s speech created greater confidence in his policies, CNN noted: “Following the speech, 71% of speech watchers said they felt the policies Biden proposed would move the country in the right direction, versus 29% who said they would move things in the wrong direc...

As he gets to work, the new Conservative Party Chair, Greg Hands, has a mountain to climb if he is to turnaround his party’s fortunes. Deltapoll’s latest data puts Labour on 47% when it comes to headline voting intentions, with the Conservatives trailing on 29%.     What is stark is that Labour no longer seems to be so toxic among those who voted to leave the EU. According to Deltapoll’s figures, 34% of those who voted to leave said they would vote Labour, with 43% opting for the Conservatives. What is more, whilst just 1% of those who voted Labour in the 2019 election plan to vote Conservative, 18% who voted Conservative in 2019 plan to vote Labour now. Redfield and Wilton’s latest polling meanwhile will prove equally gloomy for Mr Hands. It puts Labour on 50%, ahead of the Conservatives by 26 points on 21%. Redfield and Wilton goes on to note: “Altogether, 88% of those who voted Labour in the last General Election say they would vote Labour again, while only 47% ...

YouGov this week published polling looking at the public’s attitudes to politics, with the figures revealing a depressing  attitude among the public. Asked if they generally had a positive or negative view of politics in Britain, just 7% said a positive view compared to 73% saying a negative one. 55% believe politicians are now less honest than they have been in the past, with 49% believing them to be more corrupt. In yet further depressing news, 56% said they felt politicians were now less likely to follow the rules of the country than they have been in the past. 49% of those questioned by YouGov said they felt politicians were less likely to work for the country's best interests than they have previously, whilst the same proportion, 49%, said they were less likely to improve matters for people than in the past. Interestingly, whilst 77% said that the investigation and report looking   into allegations of rule-breaking social gatherings at   Downing Street durin...