YouGov poll split 52/48 over whether Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn won debate

A YouGov poll has found the public are split by 52% to 48% on who won the BBC Leaders debate. Photo: Jeff Overs / BBC - Credit: PA

A YouGov poll has found the public are split by 52% to 48% on who won the BBC election debate.

The snap poll asked viewers of the programme to leave aside their own party preference and vote on who won the debate.

Boris Johnson was seen as the winner, with 52% of the public saying he outperformed Jeremy Corbyn, who received 48% of the public’s support.

With so much of the debate focused around Brexit and the weariness of ‘gridlocked’ political discourse, the figures are alarming as they suggest little progress has been made since the Brexit referendum in 2016, which saw the public opinion split at exactly the same ratio.

YouGov asked 1,322 people who watched the debate and the figures were rebased to exclude people who didn’t know who won.

Leaving aside your own party preference, who do you think performed best overall in tonight's debate? #BBCDebate #BBCLeadersDebate 

Boris Johnson - 52%
Jeremy Corbyn - 48%

Figures rebased to exclude don't knowshttps://t.co/Br3goxInv9 pic.twitter.com/wn9Dy4XSKw
— YouGov (@YouGov) December 6, 2019

Further analysis found the public sided with Jeremy Corbyn on key characteristics such as trustworthiness, while Boris Johnson was seen to be more prime ministerial. Read more of those findings here.

Do you disagree with YouGov’s findings? Vote in our poll on who won here.