ONLY one in four voters approve of Keir Starmer's leadership of Labour, according to new figures.
Concerns over the Labour leader's stance on Gaza, his wavering on electoral promises and an unclear image of his plans for government have all followed him as the next general election grows closer.
Ipsos's latest Political Monitor poll, covering the first half of April, found his satisfaction among voters dropping 4% since February, down to 25%.
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Starmer has also seen approval in a range of metrics drop substantially since September.
Confidence in his understanding of the UK's problems has plummeted, falling from 44% to 35% in that time, while perceptions of his capability as a leader dropped from 35% to 29%
Meanwhile, faith in his ability to handle a crisis fell from 23% to 18%, and confidence in his judgement dropped from 32% to 26%.
The poll, conducted every month, drew from phone interviews with 1072 British adults between April 3 and 15.
Despite his poor showing among voters, the electorate still favours Starmer over Rishi Sunak and six other popular Conservative leaders as the most capable option for a Prime Minister.
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Starmer beats Sunak by a margin of 22 points on the question, with 44% of voters believing him to be the most competent choice between the two – though 22% said neither were qualified and 10% said they didn't know.
Only Penny Mordaunt polled similarly to Sunak on the question, with James Cleverly, Grant Schapps, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and Priti Patel all faring worse against Starmer.
The poll also asked voters about when they would like to see another general election called, with over half of respondents wanting one by the end of the summer.
Some 42% of voters wanted one before the end of June, 10% wanted one in July or August, 23% preferred September or October, and 10% preferred November or December.
January 2025 – the latest another election could be called – saw 7% support, with 4% of remaining voters having no preference and 3% not knowing when they would like to see another vote.
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