Kemi Badenoch's standing among the British public has seen a notable increase, leading to discussions of a potential 'Kemi-naissance' for the Conservative Party under her leadership. Recent YouGov polling suggests a growing proportion of voters view Badenoch as performing well in her role as Leader of the Opposition and see her as a potential prime minister-in-waiting.
The latest research indicates that nearly two-fifths (38 percent) of the public now believe Badenoch is doing a good job, a rise of 23 percentage points since October of the previous year. Furthermore, more than a quarter (27 percent) of Britons consider her a potential successor to the country's current premier, a significant jump from the 8 percent who held this view following the Conservative Party conference in 2025.
Overall favorability toward Badenoch has also climbed, with 35 percent of voters holding a positive opinion of her, an increase of 14 percentage points over the past 10 months. The public increasingly describes the Conservative leader with terms such as 'decisive,' with 43 percent holding this view compared to 21 percent who find her 'indecisive.' Similarly, she is more often seen as 'strong' (40 percent) than 'weak' (24 percent), and 'competent' (40 percent) rather than 'incompetent' (27 percent).
Despite these gains, trust remains a challenge for the Conservatives, as only 25 percent of the public views Badenoch as 'trustworthy,' a modest seven-point increase since last October, while 37 percent deem her 'untrustworthy.'
Badenoch's improved favorability since the previous autumn has been most pronounced among voters who supported the Conservatives (up 21 points to 74 percent) and Reform UK (up 20 points to 53 percent) in the 2024 general election. The Tory leader has also seen an increase in positive opinion among those who voted for the Liberal Democrats (24 percent, up 13 points), Labour (17 percent, up nine points), and the Green Party (13 percent, up seven points).
However, nearly half of Britons (46 percent) still hold an unfavorable opinion of Badenoch, and the same proportion believes she does not project the image of a prime minister-in-waiting.
The Conservative Party's own ratings have not mirrored the significant personal gains of their leader. In October of the previous year, the party consistently registered a 17 percent vote share in YouGov's voting intention tracker. Over the last month, this figure has averaged 20 percent. Just 19 percent of Britons currently believe the Conservatives are prepared for government, an increase from 9 percent last October, though a substantial 57 percent still consider the party unsuited for power.
In a head-to-head comparison for the best prime minister, the public currently favors the new Labour leader, Andy Burnham, by a 12-point margin over Badenoch (38 percent to 26 percent). However, Badenoch holds an advantage when pitted against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, with 41 percent supporting her compared to 17 percent for Farage.