'Straight-talker' Kemi is now most popular party leader, poll reveals as she surpasses Nigel Farage in approval ratings

Published: 00:00, 6 April 2026 | Updated: 00:27, 6 April 2026 Kemi Badenoch has become the most popular political party leader as the public warms to her straight talking, a poll has revealed. The Conservative leader has seen a significant boost to her popularity in recent months, surpassing Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in approval ratings. Mrs Badenoch has a net approval rating of minus 9 – a remarkable change of fortunes for the Tory leader, who had a minus 32 net rating ahead of her party conference in October. She is ahead of Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, on minus 11, and Mr Farage, on minus 16, the survey by pollsters More In Common found. The Leader of the Opposition is also ahead of Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who sits on minus 16 despite his party seeing an upturn in the polls. And Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is behind all four major party leaders on a lowly minus 42. The rating suggests a string of recent interventions have helped solidify Mrs Badenoch's position, including her challenge to the PM over Angela Rayner's tax affairs and the Peter Mandelson scandal. However, the Conservative Party is yet to benefit from its leader's boost in popularity, the poll suggests. Kemi Badenoch's net approval has climbed to -9, marking a sharp contrast to the -32 rating recorded leading up to the October conference last year Mrs Badenoch still trails Mr Farage on metrics including strength and being a leader, but she scores higher on other measures such as caring about the public and transparency. Luke Tryl, UK director of More In Common, said that Mrs Badenoch's name recognition has also improved.  He told The Sunday Times: 'Whereas last summer we'd run whole focus groups where no one would know who Kemi was, she is often now brought up spontaneously, and even some of those who would never vote Tory say they admire her conviction and straightforwardness.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.