While the public say the Conservatives handled the pandemic badly, they tend to think the major policies were right
This Sunday marks the five year anniversary since the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now a new YouGov survey looks at whether the public think that imposing the lockdowns – as well as a host of other measures – was the right call, and how they feel about the government’s handling of the pandemic more broadly.
Most Britons think the government handled the pandemic badly, although they are split on why
The majority of Britons (56%) say the government handled the pandemic badly, compared to 38% who think it did a good job. Tory voters are, understandably, the most supportive, with 70% saying Boris Johnson’s government did a good job – among other voters this figure stands at just 27-36%.
In terms of the government’s overall approach to the pandemic, the public are split: 35% say the government was not strict enough, while 22% think it was too strict – only 33% think they got the balance about right.
Among those who disapprove of the government’s handling of the pandemic, 45% say the government was not strict enough while 32% think they were too strict.
Reform UK voters tend to see the government as having been too strict (50%), while the plurality answer among Labour voters (47%) and Lib Dems (40%) is that they were not strict enough. The most common answer among Tory voters is that the government got the balance about right (50%).
The public think the lockdowns, school closures, and face mask requirements were the right call
Despite disapproving of the government’s handling of COVID in general terms, most of the public endorse the broad policies that were enacted.
Of nine COVID policies enacted, Britons are most likely to say the government was right to require travellers from high risk countries to isolate for 14 days upon arrival in the UK, with 88% saying so.
Three quarters also approve of requiring people to wear face masks in public places (78%), and a similar number back the furlough scheme (76%). Seven in ten (71%) also say it was right to impose the national lockdowns.
While some now question the wisdom of the decision to close schools to most pupils, two thirds of Britons (66%) believe this was the right thing to do. Among those who had school-age children at the time of the pandemic this figure still stands at 61%.
The public are similarly likely to think it was right to shutter university campuses (67%).
Although they only saw very limited use in the end, most Britons (58%) think it was right to construct the ‘Nightingale hospitals’, while the same number endorse the decision to make getting the coronavirus vaccine voluntary rather than mandatory.
For the aforementioned policies, no more than 28% of Britons think they were the wrong call. There is one policy that the public tend to think was a bad idea, however – Eat Out to Help Out. Although most people supported the scheme at the time, 50% now say it was the wrong thing to do in hindsight, compared to only a third who continue to endorse it (35%).
Reform UK voters are distinctly less favourable of each of the measures polled than other voters, with the main exception being the vaccine, which 68% say it was right to leave as a voluntary option (compared to 57-60% among Labour, Lib Dem and Tory voters).
What do you think about the major COVID decisions the government made, the impact of the pandemic on the UK, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
Photo: Getty
