New Prime Minister Keir Starmer is enjoying a post-appointment honeymoon when it comes to his first approval rating since the election, according to Opinium’s latest poll.
Starmer’s net rating currently sits at +19 per cent, with 38 per cent approving of him and 20 per cent disapproving of the job he is doing.
This is compared to a -1 per cent net approval which he had in his final rating as leader of the opposition. The leaders of the other two main parties have also seen significant jumps in their approval ratings since the general election:
| Approve | Disapprove | Don’t know | Net approval | Change from final pre-election poll | |
| Keir Starmer, Prime Minister | 38% | 20% | 13% | +19% | +20% |
| Rishi Sunak, leader of the Conservative Party | 20% | 42% | 13% | -22% | +16% |
| Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats | 25% | 18% | 24% | +8% | +10% |
| Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer | 27% | 16% | 24% | +11% | |
| Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary | 22% | 15% | 29% | +7% | |
| David Lammy, Foreign Secretary | 20% | 19% | 30% | 0% | |
| Wes Streeting, Health Secretary | 22% | 14% | 30% | +8% | |
| Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London | 20% | 35% | 20% | -16% | |
| Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister | 27% | 20% | 24% | +7% |
Starmer’s bounce in net approval rating is similar to Boris Johnson’s after the 2019 General Election. Johnson’ net approval rating rose from -15 per cent in Opinium’s final poll before the 2019 general election, to +7 per cent in Opinium’s first poll after the 2019 general election
Cautiously YIMBY
With Labour’s focus on housebuilding, the public narrowly supports the policy to erect more homes, with 45 per cent believing that increasing housebuilding is essential to address the housing crisis. A third (34 per cent) feel that rapid housebuilding is detrimental to communities and the environment, while 21 per cent aren’t sure.
Almost half (49 per cent) also believe that relaxing planning restrictions and making it easier to build on the green belt will lead to a real increase in housebuilding in the UK, compared to 27 per cent who disagree with this.
Few want to ‘unite to the right’
Opinium’s poll also found that relatively few voters support the idea of Reform and the Conservatives merging. Overall, 22 per cent support this, with 49 per cent not in favour.
Those who voted Conservative on July 4th are divided on this, with 39 per cent supporting a merger, and 40 per cent opposing. Those who voted Reform are more opposed to the idea, with 46 per cent opposing compared to 41 per cent in support.
James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at Opinium said: “Elections often result in a honeymoon period for the winning party and their leaders, and this time is no different with Starmer’s approval ratings surging since he became Prime Minister.
“This mirrors the surge we saw with Boris Johnson’s ratings when his party won the 2019 General Election. As the Conservatives turn to looking at the future after their catastrophic loss, they should be wary of the idea of just stacking the Tory and Reform vote shares together as supporters of both parties are deeply divided on the idea of a merger.”
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