Boris Johnson’s poll lead soars as 68% of voters back his roadmap out of Covid… and there’s cheering news for Dilyn the No 10 dog too!
- The Mail on Sunday can reveal 68 per cent back the ‘one way road to freedom’
- By contrast, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s ratings have plummeted to zero
- The Tories have a four-point lead, with Conservatives on 42 and Labour on 38.
Boris Johnson’s opinion poll ratings have surged in the wake of his lockdown roadmap, with more than two-thirds of people supporting the Prime Minister’s plan for lifting restrictions.
An exclusive Mail on Sunday poll has found that a total of 68 per cent back the ‘one-way road to freedom’ that Mr Johnson announced last week, with just 20 per cent opposed to it.
Despite criticism from some business leaders and Tory backbenchers that the path to the lifting of all Covid rules by June 21 is too slow, the plan seems to have given a substantial boost to Mr Johnson’s personal standing.
His ‘net approval’ rating of plus 10 is up from plus 1 in January – after months in which it languished in negative territory.
The PM’s ratings have increased since he announced plans to lift lockdown in England
By contrast, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s ratings have plunged from a positive rating to zero.
While the ratings for Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Matt Hancock have stayed largely consistent – Mr Sunak is on plus 28 and Mr Hancock is on minus 3 – the poll suggests that ‘vaccine tsar’ Nadhim Zahawi is becoming a rising political star, with 59 per cent believing he is doing a good job and only 22 per cent thinking the opposite. His net score of plus 37 beats the rest of his ministerial colleagues by a considerable distance.
The personal ratings for Mr Johnson and Sir Keir are echoed by the state of the parties. The poll gives the Tories a four-point lead, with the Conservatives on 42 and Labour on 38.
When voters are asked whether the Government’s general approach to the virus is ‘right or wrong’, people approve by 52 per cent to 37 per cent – the first time since last May that a majority has thought it is doing the right thing.
However, people are split over whether they believe all measures will be lifted by June 21, with 47 per cent thinking they will but 44 per cent feeling more sceptical.
People are much less equivocal about whether the lifting of all measures would be a ‘good thing’ – with 63 per cent thinking it would.
The ratings for Chancellor Rishi Sunak have stayed largely consistent, and he is on plus 28
The boost to the Prime Minister’s personal standing comes ahead of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget on Wednesday. When voters are asked who they think is best for the economy out of Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak or Sir Keir and Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds, the Johnson/Sunak team beat Starmer/Dodds by 48 per cent to 34 per cent.
One of the few blips on Mr Johnson’s political radar recently has come from criticism of Dilyn, the Jack Russell he shares with fiancee Carrie Symonds.
Reports claimed that the terrier was hard to control, with allegations that he cocked his leg on an official’s handbag and chewed antique furniture and old books at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country retreat in Buckinghamshire.
More than half of voters want Dilyn to stay in No 10. Pictured with Carrie Symonds.
Voters are sympathetic when asked whether Dilyn should be allowed to stay at No 10 Downing Street or be rehoused, with 52 per cent saying stay and just 15 per cent wanting him to be rehoused.
However, when people were asked which pet would best suit the Prime Minister, the most popular response was ‘Boris Johnson should not look after animals’.
In second place, 20 per cent said he should have a dog, 11 per cent said a goldfish and eight per cent a cat.
lDeltapoll interviewed 1,527 British adults online between February 24 and 26. Data has been weighted to be representative of the adult population as a whole.
Source: Read Full Article