Boris Johnson is the only recent prime minister whom a majority of Reform UK voters say did a good job in office. Nearly six out of 10 (57%) supporters of Nigel Farage’s party say the ousted Tory leader performed well during his stint in Downing Street.
The new YouGov polling shows he scores far more highly than other recent PMs among Reform backers. Just 41% said Rishi Sunak did a good job – but this was a higher approval rating than for David Cameron (39%), Theresa May (27%) and Liz Truss (12%). Just 2% of Reform supporters said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was doing a good job.
Nearly half (49%) thought Mr Johnson would do a good job as Conservative leader in the future. This was the case for 59% of Conservative supporters.
However, the polling pours cold water on the idea that the return of Mr Johnson as Tory leader would transform the fortunes of the Conservatives as the party battles Reform for the centre-Right vote.
When Reform supporters were asked whether Mr Johnson or Mr Farage would make the best prime minister, seven out of 10 opted for the latter, with just 15% favouring the former mayor of London.
The polling suggests there is little appetite for a return of Mr Johnson to No 10.
When all respondents were asked to choose between Sir Keir and Mr Johnson, just 27% of Britons said the former Tory boss would do the best job, while 34% backed the Labour leader.
Mr Johnson fared slightly better than current Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. Just one in four thought she would be a better prime minister than Sir Keir.
The polling signals that changing the leader would not transform the Tories’ standing with the public.
When asked who they thought would do a good job as leader of the Conservatives in the future, Mr Johnson polled best but with a score of just 28%. This was better than Reform’s Mr Farage (25%), former foreign secretary James Cleverly (20%), Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick (18%), Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel (14%) and former home secretary Suella Braverman (12%).
Among current Conservative supporters, there is high regard for former PM Mr Cameron. More than three in four (76%) think he did a good job – a higher rating than that enjoyed by Rishi Sunak (71%), Mr Johnson (69%), Mrs May (56%) and Ms Truss (8%).
