For the first time ever, the UK public believe Keir Starmer would make a better Prime Minister than Boris Johnson, according to the latest Opinium poll.
Almost two-fifths (37 per cent) think the Labour leader would do a better job leading the country, compared to 35 per cent who think the same about Johnson.
This comes off the back of Keir Starmer enjoying a higher approval rating than Boris Johnson for 6 weeks.
However, the Conservatives do still hold a 4-point lead in terms of voting intention – 43 per cent vs. 39 per cent for Labour.
Both parties are down one percentage point since last week.
Views on Covid-19 crisis
There is widespread disapproval for how the crisis is being handled. Three-in-five (59 per cent) think the current levels of testing in the UK are insufficient, and 57 per cent disapprove of the government’s handling of the test and trace system.
More than half (54 per cent) believe the UK is coming out of lockdown too fast – increasing from 46 per cet last week.
Trace and trace
Adam Drummond, head of political polling at Opinium, comments: “The scenes at Bournemouth beach and elsewhere over the weekend may have made an impression on voters with a big jump (from 46 per cent to 54 per cent) in the number saying the UK is coming out of lockdown too quickly.
“Politically, many of the other figures are largely stable with approval of the government’s handling of the pandemic remaining negative and approval of specific elements like track and trace or testing remaining significantly more negative.
“Boris Johnson’s approval rating remains narrowly negative while Keir Starmer’s remains substantially positive (moving from a net +22 last week to +27 this week). Politically, the “new normal” is that for the first time in over a decade Labour has a leader who outperforms their party while the Conservatives have a leader who underperforms theirs and the crossover in preferred prime minister is a reflection of that.”
Related: The ability of Tory MPs to hang on to job regardless of failures is Darwin defying
