Liz Truss’ personal ratings are even worse than those recorded for Boris Johnson at the height of the Partygate scandal, according to another Observer poll that will cause alarm among Tory MPs.
Truss’ personal approval rating of -47 is now the worst ever recorded for a prime minister in an Opinium poll for the Observer. It is a worse score than Johnson recorded during Partygate and Theresa May in the weeks leading up to her resignation.
It suggests the Prime Minister’s perception among voters has worsened despite the Tory party conference, when leaders and parties traditionally see a bump in support when given the chance to present their policy vision.
His net approval rating has fallen 10 points since last week as a result of a significant increase in the number of voters who say they “disapprove” of the job he is doing. The figure rose nine points to 64%. Only 16% approve of the job they are doing. He has an overall approval rating of -47 after accounting for rounding.
In a worrying sign for Truss, his approval numbers are almost as bad among Leave voters as Remain voters. Among those who quit, 61% disapprove of the job they are doing, while 19% approve. Among the rest, 74% disapprove, while 12% approve. Truss successfully won the mantle of Brexiter candidate for the Tory leadership, despite having backed Remain during the EU referendum campaign.
However, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s ratings are even worse at -51 overall. It follows a mini-budget accused of crashing the pound, inducing market chaos and leading to a major party conference scrapping the top tax rate. Keir Starmer’s numbers remain largely unchanged, with a net approval rating of +9.
With Truss facing opposition to his plans from his own MPs on several fronts, the majority of voters (53%) believe he should resign. Only 25% think she should remain Conservative leader. Among voters who supported the Conservatives in the last election, 41% say he should stay in office, while 39% say he should resign.
Overall, Labour’s 21-point lead is now the biggest Opinium has ever recorded, despite the firm starting polling after New Labour’s peak in popularity. Labor has tended to have smaller leads than those recorded with other polling companies because of the way Opinium treats the likelihood that voters will cast a ballot.
After a Tory conference marked by public spats between cabinet ministers over immigration, tax and welfare, it was clear to voters which party had enjoyed the better conference. Asked about the Labor conference, 44% said it had gone well, and 12% thought it had gone badly. Among conservatives, 19% thought it had gone well, and 49% said it had gone badly.
The Conservatives retain just 60% of their 2019 coalition vote. Labor retains 87% of its 2019 voters. 61% of all voters say there should be a general election this year, with a fourth party against the idea.
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Adam Drummond, associate director of Opinium, said: “The Conservative party conference has not, it seems certain, given the Truss administration the boost in the polls it might have hoped for. The fact that the Prime Minister appears determined to avoid an improvement in universal credit in line with inflation puts her on the wrong side of public opinion on the subject.
“While voters generally like it when politicians make a U-turn to abandon unpopular policies, the fact that ‘U-turns to abandon unpopular policies’ seems to have defined their time in office so far means that he doesn’t even get the benefit of being seen as principled: his ratings for that are as low as they are for being competent or being a strong leader.”
Opinium surveyed 2,023 people online from October 5-7.