Keir Starmer 'now more unfavourable than Hamas' in UK: YouGov poll

The British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has a higher unfavourability rating in the UK than the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a YouGov poll has found.

The poll found that Hamas, which is a proscribed terror group in the UK, has an unfavourability rating of 63 per cent, while Keir Starmer's unfavourability rating stood at 74 percent.

Starmer did fare better in favourability, with 18 per cent having a favourable view of the Prime Minister, compared to 5 per cent for Hamas.

The poll also asked about other prominent figures and groups, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose favourability and unfavourability ratings were 10 per cent and 55 per cent respectivly. 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had an unfavourability rating of 33 percent, compared to 76 per cent for US President Donald Trump, who recently spearheadded the kidnapping of Maduro by US forces.

The most unpopular figure included in the poll was Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose unfavourability rating was 89 per cent.

Despite a historic election win in July 2024, Starmer has proved an unpopular Prime Minister across the political spectrum, as these results, and countless other opinion polls demonstrate.

Prior to the general election, Starmer's main selling point was that “a vote for Labour is a vote to stop the chaos.” But in a recent op-ed for The New Arab, trade union activist Daniel Lindley said their failure to do this "has resulted in them being deserted both by the factions of British capital who thought they’d be a safer bet than the Conservatives."

The military arm of Hamas was proscribed under the Terrorsim Act in 2001, while Tony Blair was Prime Minister. The proscription was extended to cover the whole organisation in 2021, under Boris Johnson's government.

Their designation makes it illegal to be a member of Hamas, display its symbols, or express support for the group.

Hamas is currently appealing their terror designation.

Favourability and unfavourability in polls are measured through direct sentiment questions asking respondents whether they hold a favourable or unfavourable view of a person, institution or policy, usually with graded options ranging from “very favourable” to “very unfavourable,” plus neutral and “don’t know” responses.

Results are reported as raw percentages or as net favourability (favourable minus unfavourable), though the latter obscures how strongly people feel.

Pollsters often weight results to reflect the wider population, and the polling method (online, phone, face-to-face) can affect how openly negative respondents are.

Favourability is not a vote intention: intensity of opinion, question wording, order effects and treatment of “don’t know” answers all shape the numbers, making these measures best suited to tracking reputation and shifts in public mood rather than predicting electoral outcomes.