The Prime Minister is now seen as unfavourably as she was in the immediate aftermath of the general election
With the government still reeling in the aftermath of the Chequers Brexit plan and the resignations it precipitated, new YouGov favourability polling reveals that the Prime Minister’s popularity has hit an all-time low.
While it is not possible to directly determine how much the events of the past week are responsible for the change, as the last results are from early May and much has happened in that time period, it is clear that the public is turning against the Prime Minister.
Only a quarter of Britons (25%) have a favourable view of the Prime Minister, while 62% have an unfavourable view. Taken together this gives May a net favourability score of -37. This is down from -21 at the beginning of May and is her lowest ever, at about the same level she was on in June last year in the aftermath of the 2017 general election (-34).
Those turning against the Prime Minister appear to be Leave voters. While Theresa May’s net favourability score had been largely consistent among this group between March and May (+10 to +18), it has nosedived from +10 at the beginning of May to -23 now. Over the same time period the change among Remain voters has been from -55 to -49.
While many in the Conservative party may be blaming Boris Johnson for his role in the government’s woes, his favourability score has not experienced such a drastic decline, having fallen to -29 from -24 in May. Nor has the Conservative party suffered as badly as its leader, its net favourability score falling from -22 in May to -26 now.
Jeremy Corbyn does not seem to be capitalising on the Prime Minister’s weakness, however, as his popularity is declining as well. The Labour leader’s net favourability rating stands at -30, falling from -26 in May and having been in constant decline since November of last year.
Photo: Getty
