Tony Blair less popular than Jeremy Corbyn, poll finds

Tony Blair is more unpopular with voters than Jeremy Corbyn, according to an opinion poll for The Independent.

While one in three people (33 per cent) has a favourable opinion of Mr Corbyn, and 60 per cent an unfavourable one, Mr Blair’s ratings are even more bleak, at 21 per cent and 72 per cent respectively.

The survey of 2,006 adults by ORB found that 60 per cent of people who voted Labour at the 2015 election have a favourable view of Mr Corbyn, and 35 per cent an unfavourable one. Mr Blair is much less popular among them; only 37 per cent have a favourable opinion of him, while 56 per cent do not.

Three in 10 people (29 per cent) believe Labour would be in a better position going into next month’s election with Mr Blair as leader, but almost twice as many (56 per cent) disagree with this statement.

Among 2015 Labour voters, 37 per cent believe the party would be better off under Mr Blair in this election – hardly a ringing endorsement of Mr Corbyn. But 51 per cent of them disagree.

The former prime minister has returned to the political fray to oppose what he calls Theresa May’s “Brexit at any cost” strategy. He has ruled out returning to Parliament, admitting: “I evoke a lot of disagreement and anger.”

ORB found that a majority of people (52 per cent) have a favourable view of Ms May, and 42 per cent an unfavourable one. She enjoys such ratings among all social classes, suggesting that her attempt to win over Labour’s traditional working class supporters is working.

The Prime Minister is more popular among over-45s than younger voters. More people between the ages of 18 and 44 group have an unfavourable opinion of her than have a favourable one. However, this “age gap” may not harm her election prospects as people are more likely to vote as they move up the age scale.

The Prime Minister is more popular than Nicola Sturgeon across the UK. Only 28 per cent of people have a favourable view of Ms Sturgeon, and 62 per cent an unfavourable one. Scots are split down the middle about the SNP leader; 49 per cent have a favourable opinion and 50 per cent an unfavourable one. But she is more popular north of the border than Ms May, whose ratings are 36 per cent and 64 per cent respectively.

Some 13 per cent of people say they have never heard of Paul Nuttall, the Ukip leader. The same proportion has a favourable opinion of him, and 55 per cent an unfavourable one. Only 23 per cent of the public have a favourable view of Tim Farron, and 52 per cent an unfavourable one. Among 2015 Lib Dem voters, 24 per cent have an unfavourable impression of the party’s leader.

Ms May will face public opposition if, as expected, she ends the “triple lock” under which the state pension rises each year by at least 2.5 per cent. Some 43 per cent oppose scrapping it, including 69 per cent of over-65s, while one in three people (33 per cent) supports ending it.

Labour’s pledge to recruit an extra 10,000 police officers was overshadowed by confusion over the party’s costings. But the policy itself is popular: it is supported by 77 per cent of the public, including 76 per cent of 2015 Tory voters, and opposed by only 11 per cent.

The public supports government intervention in the energy market to keep prices low, an idea which Ms May has been accused of stealing from Ed Miliband’s 2015 manifesto. When told the proposal was Labour’s, 68 per cent backed the idea and 15 per cent opposed it. When told it was a Tory plan, slightly more people (73 per cent) supported it and 9 per cent opposed it.