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Although it’s not quite coming third in a two-horse race, a recent YouGov poll won’t give these hopefuls much to cheer about. Though Robert Jenrick finds himself marginally more popular among the public than Kemi Badenoch, it seems neither are preferred as Prime Minister to Keir Starmer.
This isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of Mr. Starmer, mind. When the Labour leader was pitted against Robert Jenrick in a survey asking who would make the best PM, the incumbent led by 29 points to 21. His lead over Badenoch is slightly smaller, reaching 27 points to 20.
These numbers show that there is a lot of scepticism coming from all sides. Half of those polled were left undecided, and although Jenrick performed better among Conservative and Reform voters, his overall figures leave very little to write home about.
When pitted against each other, YouGov figures show that 12% of Brits think Jenrick is the best choice to lead the Conservatives. This, somehow, beat Kemi Badenoch, who took 10% of the vote. An eye-watering 74% of respondents simply did not have a preference between the pair.
Drilling down further, the sample size was also quizzed on each candidate’s skills set. They were asked which of the two were ‘competent’, ‘decisive’, ‘trustworthy’, ‘strong’, or ‘likeable’. Neither Robert Jenrick nor Kemi Badenoch polled above 25% in any of these fields.
In truth, they may simply be victims of a general lack of interest in the opposition party’s leadership contest. Fewer than 1 in 5 said they actually cared who won the race – a figure which is made more hilarious by the fact that 52% of identified Tory voters also declared their disinterest.
The Tory ennui runs strong, it seems. Just over half of those questioned believe that the Conservatives ‘are not relevant’ to UK politics at the moment. Following a divisive 14-year spell in charge, and the recent surge in right-wingers going to Reform, this Tory crisis may become an existential one.
