Half the nation wants an early General Election, but a third think the new Prime Minister should serve until the end of the term
A YouGov snap poll of 2,233 adults taken moments after Theresa May’s resignation shows widespread support for her decision, and a mixed bag of reviews on her performance as Prime Minister.
Theresa May’s decision to resign supported by majority of Britons
Two thirds (67%) of Britons thought Theresa May was right to resign - a rare example of absolute agreement among Labour voters, Conservative voters, Leavers and Remainers (72% Lab, 71% Con, 69% Remain, 70% Leave).
Least happy to see her go were the Lib Dem voters, among whom six in ten (57%) thought she should go and one in four (26%) thought she should stay - more than the proportion of Conservatives who wanted her to stay on (19%).
What of her legacy?
Opinions on whether Theresa May did well as Prime Minister are split across party lines: a third of Conservative voters (32%) deem her a ‘good’ or ‘great’ Prime Minister, compared to one fifth (20%) of Lib Dems and one in twelve (8%) Labour voters.
Just over a third (38%) of those voting for her party think she was ‘poor’ or ‘terrible’, rising to just over half (55%) of Lib Dems and two thirds (63%) of Labour voters.
Interestingly, Remainers and Leavers are broadly aligned in their perception of her performance as PM: 17% of Remainers and 21% of Leavers think she did well, while 55% of Remainers and 47% of Leavers think she was ‘poor’ or ‘terrible’.
Plurality of Britons want an early general election
On the question of what next, the most popular option is an early General Election - supported by half (46%) of Britons. A third (34%) would prefer the new PM to serve out the rest of their term, while the rest (20%) aren’t sure.
On this issue, Remainers and Leavers are - predictably - extremely divided. Two thirds (66%) of Remainers support another general election, compared to one third (30%) of Leave voters.
Half of Leavers (52%) and a quarter of Remainers (23%) would prefer the new Prime Minister serve out the rest of the term.
A full three quarters (75%) of Labour voters would prefer an early General Election, compared to just one in five (21%) Conservative voters.
See the full results here
Photo: Getty
