VOTERS in England still believe Keir Starmer would be a worse choice for Prime Minister than Boris Johnson - but Scots don't want either of them in charge.
New polling conducted by Opinium Research and commissioned by The Observer shows that across the UK while only 28% of people surveyed felt Boris Johnson would make the best Prime Minister, while Keir Starmer scored even lower with only 26% believing he would make the best leader.
Johnson was most popular in the south of England (30%) and the Midlands (36%). Scotland and London were the only places where respondents felt Starmer would be the preferred option.
UK-wide, 35% stated that neither figure would make for the best Prime Minister, while a further 12% respondents stated “don’t know”.
The percentage saying neither should be PM rose to 45% north of the Border, while just 19% backed Johnson and 26% supported the Labour leader.
The polling also revealed that of the 2002 respondents, a whopping 56% disapprove of the job Boris Johnson is doing, while only 36% of respondents approve of the job Keir Starmer is doing.
Commenting on the figures, Kirsten Oswald MP, the SNP’s Westminster Deputy leader, said: “People across Scotland are being forced to pay a heavy price for the cost of living with Westminster - and it’s clear, as this poll highlights, that serial law-breaker Boris Johnson’s hollow words are fooling no one in Scotland and Starmer offers no hope.
"Scotland can do so much better than a broken Westminster system acting against its interests. The reality is that only with independence will we be able to escape the sleaze and scandals of Westminster and protect our interests and people."
The polling figures come as Starmer faced heavy critique for his limp approach in Prime Minister’s Questions, where he failed to mention the recent confidence vote which saw 148 Tory MPs refusing to back Johnson.
The internal strife in Tory party against Johnson comes in the wake of the Partygate scandal and amidst the resignation of the PM’s former Anti-Corruption Tsar, John Penrose due to Johnson’s breaking of the Ministerial Code.
Meanwhile, in May Starmer promised to step down if he is fined for breaking Covid laws as a result of a campaign event which took place last April in Durham.
At the time a ban on indoor mixing between different households was in place, though some Covid restrictions had been eased.
If the Labour leader were fined and stood down, the decision would trigger a leadership election within the party.
