Sir Keir Starmer has become the most popular opposition leader since Tony Blair, according to a new poll on Friday.
Just two months into the role, the new Labour leader's currently approval rating stands at 51 percent among UK voters with 20 percent dissatisfied. In total, 77 percent of Labour voters say they are satisfied with him, the best rating recorded since Mr Blair in December 1994.
— Dylan Spielman (@DylanSpielman) June 12, 2020
Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos Mori said that Labour will be encouraged that Keir Starmer is "achieving comparable leader satisfaction ratings to Tony Blair and David Cameron" when they led Her Majesty's opposition, "as both went on to become general election winners".
"However this is still very early days - it's not unusual to see a honeymoon period for a new leader", he added.
"And there is an important difference, Boris Johnson is still more popular than John Major and Gordon Brown were when Blair and Cameron achieved their best scores".
Skinner said that as concerns over the economy and the coronavirus remain high, how the two leaders handle these issues over the coming months will be "crucial".
Despite the positive polling for Labour, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still seen as the more capable leader over Sir Keir, by 43 percent to 38 percent. The ruling Conservatives also hold a slight leader over Labour despite suffering amid the coronavirus pandemic.
47 percent say they satisfied with Mr Johnson and his government while 49 percent are dissatisfied.
The Tories currently stand at 43 percent, a fall of nine points since March, while Labour is up eight points at 38 percent.
Westminster voting intention:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) June 12, 2020
CON: 43% (-9)
LAB: 38% (+8)
LDEM: 10% (+1)
GRN: 3% (-1)
via @IpsosMORI
Chgs. w/ 16 Mar
The gap between the two main parties has closed since last year's December election which saw Labour suffer its worst defeat since 1935.
Starmer succeeded Jeremy Corbyn who, by the time of his resignation, had become deeply unpopular with the voting public.
While the news may be positive for Labour, they are currently facing an uphill battle. The unprecedented circumstance of the pandemic has harmed the Conservatives but they still maintain an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons and the next election is not scheduled until 2024.
If Starmer is to stand a chance at winning a future general election, it will require a historically large swing in Labour's favour.
Tony Blair became the leader of the opposition in 1994 and went on to win a landslide victory in 1997 against then Conservative Prime Minister John Major. Blair would go on to win the subsequent 2001 and 2005 elections before standing down two years later.
