UK Prime Minister Liz Truss is supported by 14% of British citizens after the announcement of the government's new "mini-budget," making her less popular than former Conservative party leaders, including her predecessor, Boris Johnson, a YouGov poll showed on Wednesday.
The poll indicated that 73% of the respondents now have an unfavorable impression of Truss, with 55% seeing her very negatively. In comparison, the previous survey from September 21-22 showed that 26% of people had a positive impression of the new prime minister, while 57% did not like Truss.
A net favourability score of the country's leader decreased by 28 points to -59 in less than two weeks, while Johnson's net favourability was -53 at his lowest in July.
Truss is also less well-liked than the Conservative party as a whole, though it has lost some popularity as well. The party is seen in a positive way by 20% of the population, a decrease from 28% in September. A net favourability score of UK Conservatives also dropped from -33 last month to -50 in October.
Meanwhile, 60% of Conservative voters now see Truss very unfavorably, which is two times more than those who have a positive impression of her. In September, 55% of Conservative voters regarded the new prime minister in a positive way, while only 32% had a negative view of her.
The survey was conducted in the United Kingdom from October 1-2. In total, 1,751 people aged 18 and over were interviewed.
The so-called mini-budget was announced by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng on September 23. It included, among other things, a reduction of taxes on incomes over 150,000 pounds ($168,000) a year from 45% to 40%. The announcement of the measures caused a wave of criticism in the the country and abroad, and led to severe market turbulence. As a result, the UK government made a U-turn on tax cuts for the rich due to public discontent, but it did not affect the administration's popularity.
The vast majority of voters (75%) said they thought the government has lost control of the economic situation, while only 18% think the government is in control. Even 71% of 2019 Conservative voters think the government has lost control. It comes with voters disapproving of the mini-budget, with 61% regarding it as a bad budget. Only 12% think it was a good budget, with 56% of 2019 Conservative voters regarding it as bad.
As a result, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s personal ratings have also collapsed. While he was barely known by voters before his mini-budget, only 15% now approve of the chancellor, while 55% disapprove. It gives him a net rating of -40. Half (51%) want Kwarteng to resign. Almost half (48%) of the public want Truss to resign.
James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at Opinium, said: “This is the worst poll result we have shown for a Conservative prime minister since the 2010 general election. Liz Truss has managed to reach the depths of the poor personal ratings of both Theresa May and Boris Johnson at the end of their tenure, within weeks of taking office and within days of her government’s first major action. While the prime minister’s own approval ratings have plummeted, she has also contributed to the Conservative government as a whole losing its political credibility and reputation for economic competence almost overnight. If Liz Truss can turn it around, all of us are waiting with bated breath to see how she can.”
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