UK: Public opinion on coronavirus – 28th May
Conservative lead slashed to 4 points from 12 points in a week, the lowest since August
The Conservative lead has dropped considerably since before the Dominic Cummings story broke. At the end of last week, the Tories had a 12-point lead over Labour, that has now shrunk to only 4 points.
This is the lowest Conservative lead since Boris Johnson became prime minister.
The Conservatives are down 4 points on last week, dropping to 43% (two points below their figure at the general election). Labour are correspondingly up 4 points to 39%, their highest share of the vote since January 2019 and 6 points above their general election performance.
Johnson’s approval ratings fall further
Boris Johnson’s approval ratings have fallen noticeably since last week, going from a net approval of 6% to a net disapproval of 5%.
This means that the gap between the numbers who actively approve of Keir Starmer and those who actively approve of Boris Johnson has widened, with 44% approving of Sir Keir over 37% who approve of Mr Johnson. However, this week the increasing gap has more to do with the prime minister’s ratings falling than Keir Starmer’s rising.
Government takes a big hit in Cummings row
Two thirds (68%) think that Dominic Cummings should resign, and if not, a similar proportion (66%) think Boris Johnson should sack him.
Two thirds (65%) think that Boris Johnson is wrong for supporting Dominic Cummings – including almost half (48%) of 2019 Conservative voters. Only a quarter (26%) of the public think he was right to stand by him.
Further to this, just over two in five (43%) UK adults say they have lost respect for the government for its support of Dominic Cummings, rising slightly to 45% of 2019 Conservative voters.
Tables available here.
Full report is available here.