The fallout from America’s stunning reversal on Ukraine has upended approval ratings in Britain, with Keir Starmer enjoying a bounce back, Nigel Farage taking a knock and Kemi Badenoch sliding further in the polls.
The shock YouGov poll comes after the chaotic White House meeting on Friday, which saw Donald Trump and JD Vance accuse the Ukrainian President of being ungrateful and risking World War Three.
The diplomatic row came after the US sided with Russia, Belarus and North Korea in voting against a UN resolution condemning Vladimir Putin’s actions and reaffirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity, reversing 80 years of foreign policy.
After Volodymyr Zelensky was asked to leave the Oval Office without a security guarantee or minerals deal, Trump withdrew military aid and stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv.
As Nato allies debate what to do if America walks away, Starmer has taken the lead on Ukraine. He hosted an emergency meeting with Europe’s leaders in London last Sunday and has signed off on a 1.6 billion missile package for the war-torn country.
The recent developments in Ukraine have upended approval ratings in Westminster
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This defensive posture has played well for him domestically.
The number of Britons with a favourable view of the PM has increased in the last two and a half weeks from 26 per cent in mid-February to 31 per cent in YouGov’s latest poll, while the proportion with an unfavourable view of the Labour leader has fallen from 66 per cent to 59 per cent. This pushes his net favourability score down to -28, its lowest level since September last year.
Starmer’s ratings have improved among voters from all four of the largest parties.
By contrast, Farage’s popularity has dipped after he took a more equivocal stance on Trump and Ukraine.
Farage criticised Zelensky for his demeanor during the Oval Office encounter with Trump, stating that the Ukrainian president “played it very badly” and accused him of “bowling in and showing no respect” for Trump.
He also suggested that the chaotic White House meeting might have proceeded more smoothly if Zelensky had adhered to traditional dress codes, remarking that Trump is “incredibly old-fashioned” about such matters.
The Reform leader has clarified his position while tearing into Vance over his claim that a Franco-British peacekeeping force would be just “20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
Speaking to GB News, Farage said the Vice President was “wrong, wrong, wrong” as he hailed how Britain “did our bit” alongside the US in Afghanistan.
Nonetheless, a quarter of Britons (26 per cent) now have a positive view of him, down from 30 per cent in mid-February.
This is against two-thirds of the public (65 per cent) seeing Farage in a negative light, up from 60 per cent.
Farage’s latest net favourability score of -39 is 11 points lower than Starmer’s, a noticeable contrast from February’s ratings, which gave Farage a net advantage over Starmer of 10 points.
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Farage’s popularity has dipped after he took a more equivocal stance on Trump and Ukraine
NIGEL FARAGE
Farage faces a dilemma
Farage is now caught between defending Trump and reflecting the attitude of Reform voters, who have shifted their position.
Eight in ten Britons (80 per cent) now have an unfavourable view of the US President, up from 73 per cent two weeks ago, while the number of Britons with a positive view of the US president has correspondingly fallen seven points to 15 per cent.
Donald Trump’s favourability has taken such a knock that he is now unpopular overall among Reform UK voters. The proportion with a negative view of the president has risen fully 25 points to 53 per cent since mid-February, while the number with a favourable view has fallen from a commanding 66 per cent to just 45 per cent now.
By contrast, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has increased in popularity, with the proportion of Britons with a favourable view of the Ukrainian leader increasing from 64 per cent to 71 per cent.
Again, the shift is largest among Reform voters, among whom he is now more popular than Donald Trump. The number with a favourable view of Zelenskyy has increased from 49 per cent to 62 per cent over the last fortnight, while those with an unfavourable view have declined from 37 per cent to 27 per cent.
Nonetheless, while Farage’s ratings have fallen, more Britons still have a favourable opinion of him than Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. Just one in five Britons (19 per cent) see the leader of the opposition positively, up two points on last month. This is against half of Britons (49 per cent) seeing Badenoch unfavourably, down two points.
A quarter of Britons (25 per cent) have a favourable view of Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, compared to three in ten (31 per cent) seeing him in a negative light.