UK research firm Ipsos MORI’s latest Political Monitor reveals Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn holds significantly weaker poll ratings than Nigel Farage, Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson across several leadership attributes and on his approach to Brexit.
A mere one in five Britons (22 percent) agree Corbyn "has what it takes to be a good Prime Minister", while 68 percent disagree - compared with 24 percent for Nigel Farage, Jeremy Hunt 31 percent and Boris Johnson 34 percent. Meanwhile, 19 percent say Corbyn would be good in a crisis compared with 28 percent for Farage, and 21 percent say he has sound judgement compared with 30 percent for Farage.
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Moreover, just 16 percent say Corbyn gives them confidence for Britain’s future, compared with 23 percent for Farage, while 39 percent say Corbyn is patriotic compared with 55 percent for Farage, and 21 percent say he’d be a good representative for Britain on the world stage compared with 27 percent for Farage.
One in five (22 percent) say Corbyn has a lot of personality compared with 61 percent who say the same for Nigel Farage, while 23 percent say Corbyn is more style than substance compared with 46 percent for Farage. However, Corbyn and Farage are broadly comparable on some attributes, with 39 percent saying Corbyn understands the problems facing Britain compared with 42 percent for Farage, while 32 percent say Corbyn is more honest than most politicians compared with 34 percent for Farage.
Brexit Approaches
The biggest area of divergence between the quartet is on Brexit - 24 percent are confident Corbyn could get a good deal for Britain in negotiations with other European leaders while 71 percent say they would not be confident in him.
This compares with 33 percent who would be confident in Nigel Farage getting a good deal in negotiations with the EU leaders (61 percent say they would not be). When compared to the Conservative leadership candidates, 41 percent are confident Johnson would get a good deal for Britain and 37 percent would be confident in Hunt getting a good deal.
Moreover, 75 percent say they do not like Corbyn’s approach to Brexit, which includes 52 percent of Labour supporters compared with 58 percent who do not like Farage’s approach. By comparison, 53 percent do not like Johnson’s approach to Brexit and 53 percent do not like Hunt’s.
“When he was up against Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn’s public image was strongest on honesty, personality and being less out of touch, but his ratings have fallen on all of these, while remaining weak on factors such as being good in a crisis. This will all make it harder for him to capitalise against the new opponents he will have to face as May’s premiership ends – although in this volatile political situation there is still scope for public opinion to change as events unfold,” said Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research at Ipsos MORI.
