Kemi Badenoch has been handed a boost ahead of her make-or-break Tory conference speech today as fresh polling has shown the Tory leader is preferred as Prime Minister over Keir Starmer.
The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy survey has shown that Badenoch leads Starmer by two percentage points as the country’s preferred Prime Minister, a marginal difference that points to voters’ hesitancy over leadership across the two mainstream parties.
Polling shows that 36 per cent of voters prefer Badenoch to Starmer while 34 per cent back the Labour Party leader over her, leaving a remaining 29 per cent of people who said they were unsure or did not back either candidate.
The voter share of those saying they were unsure has fallen from a high of 38 per cent earlier this year. Reform’s Nigel Farage leads both Badenoch and Starmer.
Badenoch will hope that she can shore up support for the Conservatives after her speech at the party conference in which she is expected to talk up the party’s business-friendly measures to boost the UK economy and a determination to strengthen Britain’s borders.
The Tories sit in third in the polls behind both Labour and Reform UK.
Farage’s party extended their lead in City AM/Freshwater Strategy’s polling to 15 points, with projections suggesting Reform would win 438 seats in parliament if a General Election were held tomorrow.
But in a separate polling question, the gap in voters’ preference between Farage and Starmer is also marginal despite the gulf in support between the two leaders’ parties.
Starmer is backed by 40 per cent of the electorate over Farage while the Reform leader has the support of 42 per cent of the public when asked to pick between the two.
Farage’s lead over Badenoch is also marginal, with just four percentage points splitting the two.
Badenoch to deliver crucial speech
New polling may suggest that voters would be ready to vote tactically at the next election to prevent different parties from governing the UK.
The next General Election is due in four years, with opposition parties still building policy platforms and Labour hoping measures around childcare, infrastructure and public expenditure can win over voters.
The Tories have used the conference to announce new measures to cut benefits for immigrants on indefinite leave to remain (ILR), stronger policing measures and tax cuts for businesses and young people.
Party officials believe it can rebuild its credibility on keeping the public finances in check while taking a stronger line on immigration.
Badenoch’s speech may set the tone for the coming months though she faces leadership over her struggles to resonate with voters, with local elections next May set to take the temperature on public attitudes towards the Conservative Party.