Liz Truss approval ratings: how popular is UK prime minister - latest figures

Prime Minister Liz Truss is facing one of the biggest stresses on her premiership - and it’s only one month in.

Truss sacked her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng after the markets crashed in response to the government’s tax-cutting mini-budget. She has replaced him with former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

The first month of her time in office has been nothing short of chaotic, with the pound crashing against the dollar and her MPs forcing her into U-turns on her tax policies. Another U-turn has been announced on corporation tax following Kwarteng’s firing.

But what is the public’s opinion on Truss’ premiership so far? And how do her approval ratings compare to other party leaders and previous Prime Ministers? Here’s everything we know about the PM’s popularity.

How popular is Liz Truss in the polls?

The public has not been looking favourably on Truss’ tenure so far. A snap poll by YouGov, which was held on 14 October prior to Kwarteng’s sacking, showed that 59% of all respondents think Truss should resign, compared to just 19% who believe she should continue in the role. 22% answered ‘don’t know’.

A recent Opinium poll released on 8 October showed that the Prime Minister currently has a personal approval rating of -47. The poll was conducted from 5 to 7 October and was based on the response of 2,023 people.

The poll was conducted in the wake of the Tory Party Conference, which was held in Birmingham at the beginning of October. It suggests that she was not able to quell any concerns for the general public during the event. Party conferences usually help to give a bump in the polls to leaders, as they give a speech directly to party members of the general public to explain and discuss their policies.

Truss has U-turned on her plans to scrap the 45p tax rate for the wealthiest, while also announcing a U-turn on corporation tax. Adam Drummond, Opinium’s associate director, explained that while U-turns on unpopular policies normally provide a lift in the polls, the Prime Minister has “defined her time in office so far” with backtracking, which the public percieve as not being “principled”.

How does Liz Truss’ approval rating compare to previous Tory leaders?

The polling is bleak for Truss, but it looks even bleaker when looking at the rating in comparison to her predecessors. It is lower than Boris Johnson’s approval rating at the height of the Partygate scandal, and lower than Theresa May’s in the last few weeks of her time in power before she resigned.

Johnson saw an approval rating of -44 during the Partygate scandal. May saw approval ratings of -46 in similar Opinium polls weeks before she resigned from the post.

How does Liz Truss’ approval rating compare to Keir Starmer?

Tory MPs will not be happy with the recent approval ratings, especially when you compare her rating to Labour leader and main competitor Sir Keir Starmer. In the same poll, Opinium asked voters whether they approved or disapproved of the Labour leader.

Sir Keir saw a majority of those polled approving of his job so far, at 38%. 29% disapproved of his work as Labour leader. Liz Truss saw figures of 64% disapproving to only 16% approving.

It comes as Labour surged ahead in the polls, with some marking the largest lead by a political party since polling began. In the same Opinium poll, Labour had a 21 point lead over the Conservatives.

A similar YouGov survey from 13 October put Labour 28 points ahead of the Conservatives. This poll also showed that 42% of respondents thought Sir Keir would make the best Prime Minister compared to only 13% who backed Truss.