Approvals UK

Ipsos poll, 22-27 January 2026

Net party approval

Liberal Democrats: -15
The Green Party: -15
The Labour Party: -22
Reform UK: -26
The Conservative Party: -34

Party leader net approval:

Ed Davey: -7
Zack Polanski: -9
Kemi Badenoch: -16
Nigel Farage: -18
Keir Starmer: -48

Party leader disapproval rating:

Keir Starmer: 66%
Nigel Farage: 48%
Kemi Badenoch: 40%
Ed Davey: 29%
Zack Polanski: 27%

Party leader approval rating:

Nigel Farage: 30%
Kemi Badenoch: 24%
Ed Davey: 22%
Zack Polanski: 19%
Keir Starmer: 18%

Although his approval figure alone is higher than any other party leader, Nigel Farage's ratings have nevertheless gradually edged downward over the past six months.

Currently, his approval sits at 30%, while 48% disapprove.

Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar's approval currently sits at 19%, while 46% disapprove.

Nigel Farage's Scottish approval rating has reached a one-year low, with 25% approval and 60% disapproval.

His net Scottish approval rating of -35 is below the rest of the UK, which averages at -18.

As in the rest of the UK, Kemi Badenoch has experienced an uptick in her approval rating in Scotland. Currently, she is at 18% approval and 54% disapproval.

However, her net approval in Scotland, at -34, is significantly below her UK average of -15.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Scottish approval has reached a new low, with 17% approval and 70% disapproval.

Notably, his net approval of -53 in Scotland is slightly below his UK average of -47.

With just over three months to the next Scottish Parliament election, John Swinney is the least unpopular party leader in Scotland. His approval sits at 33%, while 44% disapprove.

Kemi Badenoch's Scottish approval has reached a new high of 18%, reflecting the UK-wide growth in her approval rating. However, her disapproval rating remains high at 52%.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Scottish approval continues to fall, with just 17% approving of his performance as PM, while 66% disapprove.

Months ahead of the Scottish Parliament election, First Minister John Swinney's approval rating remains steady. His approval sits at 32%, while disapproval is at 41%.

The number of people with an opinion of Zack Polanski has risen to 46%, up from 36% when he was first elected leader of the Green Party of England and Wales.

His approval sits at 19%, while 27% disapprove.

Kemi Badenoch's recent improvement in her approval rating appears to be holding steady at about 25%, while her disapproval rating hovers at 40%.

Average net approval as of 10 January 2026:

Zack Polanski: -7
Ed Davey: -8
Kemi Badenoch: -15
Nigel Farage: -17
Keir Starmer: -49

Collecting the numbers myself and tracking the average over time

End of year Scottish net approval:

John Swinney: -11 (-4)
Alex Cole-Hamilton: -14 (-1)
Gillian Mackay: -15
Ross Greer: -19
Kenny MacAskill: -24
Russell Findlay: -25 (-2)
Anas Sarwar: -26 (-12)
Nigel Farage: -30
Kemi Badenoch: -38 (-10)
Keir Starmer: -49 (-22)

+/- vs. start of the year

End of year Scottish disapproval ratings:

Keir Starmer: 66%
Nigel Farage: 55%
Kemi Badenoch: 53%
Anas Sarwar: 44%
John Swinney: 42%
Russell Findlay: 38%
Kenny MacAskill: 34%
Ross Greer: 33%
Alex Cole-Hamilton: 29%
Gillian Mackay: 28%

End of year Scottish approval ratings:

John Swinney: 31%
Nigel Farage: 25%
Anas Sarwar: 18%
Keir Starmer: 17%
Kemi Badenoch: 15%
Alex Cole-Hamilton: 15%
Ross Greer: 14%
Russell Findlay: 13%
Gillian Mackay: 13%
Kenny MacAskill: 10%

End of year approval ratings

Keir Starmer

Approve: 17%
Disapprove: 67%

Nigel Farage

Approve: 32%
Disapprove: 47%

Kemi Badenoch

Approve: 26%
Disapprove: 41%

Ed Davey

Approve: 23%
Disapprove: 31%

Zack Polanski

Approve: 19%
Disapprove: 26%

End of year net approval:

Ed Davey: -8 (-10)
Nigel Farage: -15 (-3)
Kemi Badenoch: -15 (-2)
Keir Starmer: -50 (-17)

+/- vs. start of year

All four leaders have become less popular over the past 12 months.

End of year approval ratings:

Nigel Farage: 32%
Kemi Badenoch: 26%
Ed Davey: 23%
Zack Polanski: 19%
Keir Starmer: 17%

Disapproval ratings:

Starmer: 67%
Farage: 47%
Badenoch: 41%
Davey: 31%
Polanski: 26%

Net approval:

Polanski: -7
Davey: -8
Farage: -15
Badenoch: -15
Starmer: -50

Proportion of Scottish respondents who have an opinion of...

Keir Starmer: 83%
Nigel Farage: 81%
John Swinney: 74%
Kemi Badenoch: 68%
Anas Sarwar: 62%
Russell Findlay: 52%
Ross Greer: 47%
Alex Cole-Hamilton: 44%
Kenny MacAskill: 44%
Gillian Mackay: 41%

Kemi Badenoch has yet to see a similar uptick in her Scottish approval ratings, although there has been limited recent polling. At the moment, she averages at 15% approval and 53% disapproval in Scotland.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's approval rating in Scotland is slightly lower than his UK-wide approval: currently, 17% approve of the job he is doing as Prime Minister, while 66% disapprove.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar's approval ratings have tracked wider attitudes towards the Labour Party. Although he regularly enjoyed net positive approval for he first years of his leadership, his approval now sits at 18%, with 44% disapproval.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay remains broadly unpopular, with 14% approval and 38% disapproval.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney's approval ratings have held mostly steady over the past nine months. With 31% approval and 43% disapproval, he is the most popular (or, perhaps, least unpopular) party leader in Scotland.

Although her net approval remains in the negative, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch appears to be stabilising at a notably higher approval rating than for most of the past year.