Insight

Cameron comfortably ahead as best PM

Cameron comfortably ahead as best PM

When likely voters were asked who would be the best prime minister, 41% selected David Cameron while 22% opted for Jeremy Corbyn.

After a few days in post, only 58% of current Labour voters said they thought Mr Corbyn would be the best PM, with 10% preferring Cameron.

Cameron comfortably ahead as best PM

However, Conservative voters did not have the same reticence about their party’s leader with 89% of Tories believing that David Cameron would make the best PM of the two.

Could Corbyn be prime minister?

These poor ratings continue as only a third (32%) of voters could imagine Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister, with 57% saying that they could not imagine him as premier.

However, the silver lining for the leader of the opposition is that this is actually slightly improved on his predecessor. In 2012, after two years as leader, only 28% could imagine Ed Miliband as prime minister.

David Cameron was also head on several important leadership characteristics. When voters were asked to associate each leader with a series of traits, 40% thought ‘being able to take tough decisions’ best described David Cameron compared to 16% saying the same about Jeremy Corbyn. Similarly, voters were more likely to associate Cameron as being capable (36% vs. 20%).

Read more about our polling on Jeremy Corbyn taken during the Labour leadership contest here and in our blog the uphill battle for left wing Labour.

Opinium Research carried out an online survey of 1,942 GB adults aged 18+ from 15th to 18th September 2015. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria.