A stunning poll shows how dissatisfied Britain is with Rishi Sunak’s government

• 8 out of 10 Britons are dissatisfied with the way the country is run.

• Rishi Sunak is under pressure after a tumultuous week.

• 75% of UK citizens do not believe government policy will improve public services.

A stunning new poll shows that 8 in 10 Britons are dissatisfied with the way the country is being run by Rishi Sunak and his government.

The ruling came after the prime minister faced another difficult week when one of his five key promises – “stop the boats” – took a major hit on Wednesday after the Supreme Court ruled it unlawful.

It followed a cabinet reshuffle in which Sunak sacked his outspoken home secretary Suella Braverman and made the shock move to appoint former Tory prime minister David Cameron as foreign secretary.

Sunak’s approval rating has fallen by 5 points since October, with only 21% of people satisfied with the job he is doing as Prime Minister and 66% dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of -45.

This is the lowest level since September, although it rose slightly to -37 last month.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer’s net satisfaction score is -21, with 29% of people happy with his performance as Labor leader (down 1 point from October) and 50% dissatisfied (down 3 points).

In terms of voter preferences, there has been no significant change since October, with Labor leading by 21 points: 46% support Labor (+2 since October), 25% support Conservatives (+1), 12% support Libyan Democrats (-1 ), 6% support the Greens (-3), and 10% support other parties (-1).

Only 13% are satisfied, giving a net score of -67 compared to -66 recorded last month.

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Cameron Garrett of Ipsos said it was the worst result since John Major was Prime Minister of the Conservative Party.

He wrote on X: “We now have @IpsosUK annual satisfaction metrics for Rishi Sunak’s government. They did not achieve a single rating above -60.

“The last time society was this unwavering in its ingrained pessimism was in the mid-1990s.”

Public services

According to the latest Ipsos Political Monitor, 75% of British citizens do not believe that government policies will ultimately improve the quality of public services in the country.

This figure has increased by 5 points since February 2021 and represents the highest level of criticism of the government’s long-term public services policy since Ipsos began its series of reports in 2001.

The poll found that 78% of people, including 70% of Conservative supporters, believe the quality of public services has declined over the past five years.

In comparison, 63% expressed the same opinion in March 2017, ahead of that year’s general election, and only 40% in November 2012.

People’s expectations for the future are also generally pessimistic, with all indicators showing a decline since February 2020.

The poll found that 64% of people expect the situation for the NHS to get worse over the next few years, an increase of 18 points since February 2020 and close to the worst result achieved in March 2017 of 62%.

Only a quarter (25%) of the public agree that “in the long run, government policies will improve the economy.”

68% disagree with this statement, the worst result Ipsos has recorded since they began asking the question in July 1980.

In comparison, 37% of respondents agree that “in the long term, Labour’s policies will improve the health of the UK economy”, while 50% disagree.

The Ipsos Political Monitor conducted the survey from November 1-8, 2023, to explore attitudes towards UK public services, the economy and tax and spending policy ahead of the Autumn Statement.