Johnson’s popularity wobbles as a third say he’s out of touch on Brexit

Connor IbbetsonData Journalist
September 09, 2019, 3:08 PM GMT+0

Continuing chaos surrounding Brexit is damaging the public’s view of both Government and Parliament, the latest YouGov polling reveals

Two in five Britons (40%) think that neither the Prime Minister and his Government nor Parliament are in tune with the general public on how to handle Brexit, according to the latest YouGov data.

A third (30%) of Britons say that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Government are the most in tune with public opinion over Brexit, with 19% saying that MPs in Parliament are most in step with the public wishes regarded our EU exit.

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When it comes to Leave and Remain, 58% of Leave voters back Boris Johnson and the government compared to 4% of leave voters who say the MP’s are most in touch. Nearly half (46%) of Remain voters say neither is in step with public opinion.

The public’s expectations of the Prime Minister are also falling, with Britons who thought Boris Johnson would do well, but he has done worse than they expected jumping 11 percentage points.

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The number of adults who say they thought Boris would do badly as Prime Minister and has done as badly as they expected also jumped from 28% in August to 40% in early September.

Despite continuing confusion over the Brexit referendum, when it comes to making important decisions, the public is split on who should take the reins. A third (33%) of Britons say issues should be decided by their elected MPs, and another third (35%) say the public should decide themselves via referendums.

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However, when it comes down to Brexit divisions, Remain voters may have lost some faith in idea of referendums. Nearly half (47%) of Remain voters say MP’s should make big decisions on our behalf with just over one in four (28%) saying the public should decide themselves.

On the flipside 41% of Leave voters say the public should make the important decisions by way of referendums, and 25% say MPs should be left to make decisions.

Image: Getty

See full results here

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