The number of people wanting to see the back of the prime minister reaches new heights
The government has found itself embroiled in yet another scandal, this time over news that Boris Johnson had promoted MP Chris Pincher into a senior role despite having been told about allegations of sexual misconduct made against him. To make matters worse, the prime minister tried to say he had not been informed of the allegations, before rowing back on this claim.
Now two of the most senior members of the government - chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid - have resigned, alongside other ministers. In his resignation statement Sunak said that "we cannot continue like this" and suggested that the government was not being run properly, competently or seriously.
This latest scandal facing the government has pushed the number of Britons demanding the prime minister resign to a record high of 69%. The previous high had been 63% on a couple of occasions in January, as the 'partygate' scandal continued to rumble. Just 18% of Britons want Boris Johnson to remain in post.
Perhaps more significant is the fact that most 2019 Conservative voters (54%) now also want to see the prime minister gone. This is the first time Tory voters have been more likely to want to see Johnson go than stay (33%), with a majority having wanted to keep him as recently as early June.
Despite the public desire to see the prime minister evicted from Number 10, far fewer Britons expect Johnson to go willingly. Just one in five (21%) believe he will resign, up from 7% at the beginning of June. Two thirds (68%) expect him to try and stay.
When it comes to Rishi Sunak, most Britons believe the chancellor was right to resign (56%), with Conservative voters tending to agree by 47% to 24%.
