Clegg more popular than Cameron
New PoliticsHome research reveals that the Liberal Democrat leader receives a higher approval rating from the public than David Cameron.
In a nationwide survey, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg enjoys a clear popularity gap ahead of the Prime Minister, holding an approval rating of 17, compared to the David Cameron's rating of 11.
While the two men both attract the approval of 39% of the public, fewer disapprove of Mr Clegg (22%) than Mr Cameron (28%).
Cable and Hague top poll
Meanwhile, Business Secretary Vince Cable and Foreign Secretary William Hague enjoy the highest net approval ratings of any leading politicians.
While 40% of the public approve of Mr Cable, 16% disapprove, giving the Liberal Democrat's outgoing Deputy Leader a net approval of 24. Meanwhile, 43% of voters approve of Mr Hague and 22% disapprove, leaving the Yorkshire MP with a net approval of 21.
Another high-flier is Justice Secretary Ken Clarke with a net approval of 19. Altogether, the eight most popular politicians belong to the Coalition, and all but one of those with positive approval ratings.
Labour figures languishing
The most popular Labour politician is Jon Cruddas, the Dagenham and Rainham MP who was widely tipped to make a leadership bid, with an approval rating of 3. However, the comparitive popularity of members of unpopular parties can be exaggerated due to low profiles, and therefore a smaller pool of voters having an opinion of them. In total, only 27 per cent of the public have an opinion of Mr Cruddas, as indicated in the profile collumn below.
The four least approved politicians all belong to the opposition, and include Yvette Cooper (net approval -22) and Harriet Harman (net approval -32). Lord Mandelson and Shadow Education Secretary and leadership hopeful Ed Balls are the most unpopular, with net approval ratings of -39.
Figures are a rolling average of results from the previous three weekly polls using a sample of over 1,000 voters. Results are weighted by political party identification to reflect the population of Great Britain.