Conservative Polling Numbers Continue to Slide

Today’s Opinium poll for The Observer gives Labour a 9 point lead, the largest lead the polling company has registered for the party since February 2014.

When it comes to headline voting intentions, Labour is on 41%, up 3 points from a fortnight ago with the Conservatives on 32%, down 4 points.

Diving into the detailed tables, in those English seats which the Conservatives gained in 2019 and hence gave Boris Johnson his landslide victory, Labour now has a 13 point lead, with the party on 50% compared to the Conservatives on 37%.

When it comes to approval ratings for the main party leaders, Boris Johnson now has a net score of -35%, down from -21% two weeks ago. Opinium notes that this represents his worst approval rating since he became Prime Minister.

Opinium goes on to note: “Even those who voted Conservative at the last election are divided on the Prime Minister’s leadership. 45% approve of the job he is doing, compared to 39% who disapprove.”

In contrast, Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer’s net approval rating is -2%.

Starmer leads Johnson also when it comes to voters preferred option to be Prime Minister. 29% said they felt the Labour Leader was best suited to be Prime Minister, compared to 22% who said the current incumbent was. Opinium continues: “Less than half (47%) of 2019 Tory voters think Johnson would make the best PM, down from 58% two weeks ago.”

57% of those questioned said they felt that Boris Johnson should resign as Prime Minister, up 9 points from a fortnight ago, and up 4 points from just two days ago. Just 26% think he should stay in his job. Whilst 50% of Conservative voters said they felt he should stay in his job, 34% felt he should resign.

As the country faces the prospect of a surge in cases of the new Omicron variant of COVID, 60% of respondents said they felt the UK will go into another lockdown within the next three months.

Opinium goes on to note: “the Government’s handling of the pandemic has slipped to a NET of -16, the lowest since January 2021; 48% disapprove of the way the Government is handling the coronavirus situation compared to 32% who approve.”

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