A poll bounce for Kemi Badenoch has put her neck-and-neck with Sir Keir Starmer when Britons are asked who would be the better prime minister.
A new YouGov poll showed the public are now evenly split, by 28 per cent to 28 per cent, on which of the Tory leader or Labour leader would make the best premier.
Sir Keir held a 10-point lead over Mrs Badenoch in a previous survey in the summer, with the Tory leader having since enjoyed an eight-point increase in her score.
The improvement in Mrs Badenoch’s popularity also now sees her favoured to be PM over Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, by 31 per cent to 21 per cent.
The Tory leader and Mr Farage had previously been divided by 21 per cent to 23 per cent, respectively, in a survey six months ago.
Mrs Badenoch is also now favoured to be PM over Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey by 27 per cent to 25 per cent.
But Sir Ed himself is favoured in both a head-to-head choice with Sir Keir (23 per cent to 19 per cent), and Mr Farage (33 per cent to 27 per cent) in the latest survey.
Mr Farage also loses out to Sir Keir when Brits are asked who would make the better PM by 29 per cent to 36 per cent.
A poll bounce for Kemi Badenoch has put her neck-and-neck with Sir Keir Starmer when Britons are asked who would be the better prime minister
Those who backed the Tories at the 2024 general election now favour Mrs Badenoch over Nigel Farage by a 20 point margin of 47 per cent to 27 per cent
Mrs Badenoch is also now favoured to be PM over Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey by 27 per cent to 25 per cent
There was further good news for Mrs Badenoch as the poll revealed Conservative voters have become more enthusiastic about their party’s leader.
Those who backed the Tories at the 2024 general election now favour Mrs Badenoch over Mr Farage by a 20 point margin of 47 per cent to 27 per cent.
This is a marked shift since last August, when just 29 per cent of her own party’s voters preferred Mrs Badenoch to Mr Farage, with 36 per cent favouring him.
In a head-to-head with Sir Keir, 68 per cent of 2024 Conservative voters now back Mrs Badenoch, up 13 points since last summer.
A different poll published last week showed Sir Keir’s Labour behind both the Tories and Reform.
Research by More In Common put Labour in third place on just 19 per cent, down two points since before Christmas, when Brits were asked who they back at a general election.
The Tories were up one percentage point on 23 per cent, with Mr Farage’s Reform far ahead on 31 per cent.
The grim figures for Sir Keir emerged the day after a separate YouGov survey showed Labour in third for the first time.