ALMOST half of the country does not believe that Labour is ready to form the next Government, a poll has revealed.

The survey, carried out by Ipsos MORI, found that 47% of respondents disagreed that the party was ready to become the next Government, with 29% believing it was.

However, the figures represent the best result for the party in terms of support since February 2014, which will be encouraging for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

In terms of how the party leaders have dealt with the pandemic, Boris Johnson takes the lead, with 43% of respondents saying the Prime Minister has handled the crisis well, compared to 31% believing the same of Sir Keir.

But in the launch week of his Eat Out to Help Out initiative, Chancellor Rishi Sunak continues to receive the most positive feedback from the British public for his handling of the outbreak, with three in five (60%) believing he is doing a good job.

The polling involved 1019 adults across Britain by phone between July 30 and August 4.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said: “Rishi Sunak is one of the biggest winners from the public’s desire to see strong Government action to support those affected by the coronavirus, with positive ratings from both sides of the political spectrum.

“It is, though, a bigger step to be seen as a PM-in-waiting, and public opinion is not there yet (and there are still concerns about the economic impacts of the pandemic), but he’s starting from a better position than most other contenders in recent years.

“Meanwhile, some of the negative views towards Labour have softened from last year, and people are much less likely to think they would bring chaos if elected.

“However, despite Keir Starmer’s leadership ratings, they still have some way to go to build actively positive views towards the party.”