The public was previously split over how he was managing the situation
Almost a week has passed since the Russian military launched an invasion into Ukraine. In such times of crisis, a ‘rally round the flag’ effect can occur, as happened at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
It is perhaps too soon to be sure if the government will see much of a reprieve in terms of public opinion, but YouGov research shows that public opinion is becoming increasingly favourable of Boris Johnson’s performance during this crisis. By 44% to 32% Britons now think the prime minister is managing the situation well. This represents an eight point increase in those thinking he is doing well compared to our previous survey on 24-25 February, when Britons were split 36% to 36%.
Johnson's management of the situation has gone over well with his voters – 73% of 2019 Conservative voters think he is handling it well, although this is down five points on the last survey (78%).
While a majority of Labour voters have consistently thought Boris Johnson has handled the crisis badly (53-55% across all three surveys), there is a growing number who think he is doing well. Initially, only 11% of Labour voters thought the prime minister was managing the situation poorly, but this figure has since risen to 26%.
Full results coming shortly
