UK: Public opinion on coronavirus – 27th April
Government response to Coronavirus
In the week that saw Boris Johnson return to work Opinium’s latest poll reveals a substantial fall in the UK public’s approval of the Government and its handling of the virus fell for a third week in a row. Approval for the Government’s handling of the crisis has dropped from a positive net score of +21% down to +13% and is now at its lowest level since 12th March, before the lockdown measures were brought in.
Similarly, confidence in the Government’s ability to handle the situation also fell, from +18% last week to +15% this week. Meanwhile as many as 60% disapprove of the Government’s handling of access to PPE equipment for NHS staff and essential workers.
Support for other British governments
Half (55%) of Scottish adults approve of the Scottish government’s handling of Coronavirus, while 16% disapprove, and among those in Northern Ireland, 43% approve while 25% disapprove of NI government’s handling of Coronavirus. Furthermore, in London 38% approve of Sadiq Khan’s actions, while 23% disapprove. In Wales, 29% approve versus 38% who disapprove.
Public not letting up on the lockdown
Currently, four in five (79%) say they are following the lockdown restrictions and instructions as strictly as they were when they were first introduced. However, 14% admit they are starting to be more relaxed about bending the rules slightly now if they don’t think it will harm anyone, while 3% say they never followed the rules in the first place.
In terms of the types of ways people admit to bending the rules in the last 5 weeks, a quarter (23%) have shopped for non-essentials only (23%) and a fifth (21%) have exercised more than once a day. 15% have admitted to visiting family they do not live with and 13% say they have met up with friends and family to go for a walk.
Full data tables are available here.
Report is available here.