Kemi Badenoch's standing among British voters has seen a notable increase, fueling discussions of a potential 'Kemi-naissance' for the Conservative party under her leadership. Recent YouGov polling suggests a growing proportion of the electorate believes Badenoch is performing well and possesses the qualities of a prime minister-in-waiting.
According to the latest research, nearly two-fifths (38%) of the public now consider her to be doing a good job as Leader of the Opposition, a substantial increase of 23 percentage points since October of the previous year. Furthermore, more than a quarter (27%) of Britons believe she could become the country's next premier, a figure that has nearly tripled from 8% at the time of the Conservative Party conference in 2025.
Badenoch's favorable opinion among the public has also risen, with 35% expressing a positive view, a 14-percentage point increase from ten months ago. Voters are now twice as likely to describe the Conservative leader as 'decisive' rather than 'indecisive,' with figures of 43% compared to 21%. Similarly, the public tends to view her as 'strong' over 'weak' (40% to 24%) and 'competent' over 'incompetent' (40% to 27%).
Despite this growth in personal popularity, trust remains a challenge for the Conservatives. Only a quarter (25%) of the public views Badenoch as 'trustworthy,' an increase of just seven points since last October, while 37% consider her 'untrustworthy.'
The surge in Badenoch's favorability has been most pronounced among voters who supported the Conservatives and Reform UK in the 2024 general election. Among these groups, her favorability increased by 21 points to 74% for Conservative voters and by 20 points to 53% for Reform UK voters. Significant gains were also seen among Liberal Democrat voters (up 13 points to 24%), Labour voters (up nine points to 17%), and Green voters (up seven points to 13%).
However, nearly half of Britons (46%) still hold an unfavorable opinion of Badenoch, and the same proportion believes she does not appear to be a prime minister-in-waiting. The Conservative Party's overall standing has not mirrored the improvements in their leader's personal ratings. In October last year, the party consistently recorded a 17% vote share in YouGov's voting intention tracker, which has averaged 20% over the past month. Currently, only one in five Britons (19%) believes the Conservatives are ready for government, an increase from 9% last October, though a majority (57%) still consider them unsuited for power.
In a hypothetical head-to-head contest for best prime minister, current Labour leader Andy Burnham leads Badenoch by a 12-point margin (38% to 26%). However, Badenoch performs better against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, with voters favoring her by 41% to 17%.