Rishi Sunak has highest satisfaction ratings for a Chancellor since Healey in 1978
At some stage, surely, things will change for the man now favourite for next PM
Rishi Sunak remains popular with the British public according to the September Ipsos MORI Political Monitor. The poll, conducted before the latest announcement of the Job Support Scheme on Thursday, reveals that two-thirds (64%) say they are satisfied with the way he is doing his job as Chancellor, up from 45% in March – one in five (21%) are dissatisfied. This is the best score in the Ipsos MORI long-term trends for any Chancellor since Denis Healey in April 1978 (67% were satisfied with him and 28% were dissatisfied). While Conservatives are very much satisfied in the way the Chancellor is doing his job (83% satisfied), a majority of Labour supporters are as well, with 59% satisfied.
When it comes to ratings on detailed leader image attributes, the Chancellor’s strongest scores are on understanding the problems facing Britain (55%) and being good in a crisis (54%), though he receives lower scores for having a lot of personality (33%). Mr Sunak comes out ahead on many attributes when compared with Boris Johnson – in particular more people think he is good in a crisis (54% vs 32% for the PM), has sound judgement (49% vs 30%), is more honest than most politicians (41% vs. 27%), and is less likely to be seen as out of touch (31% vs 58%). Mr Johnson however is seen by more people as being patriotic (by 68% vs. 48%) and having a lot of personality (67% vs. 33%). Rishi Sunak also beats Keir Starmer in several attributes such as being good in a crisis (by 54% vs. 31%) and having sound judgement (49% vs. 43%).