Diastrous ballot reveals Rishi Sunak has didn’t win again any voters in marketing campaign
Rishi Sunak has failed to win back any voters as the Conservative campaign flops.
The first Mirror poll since he called the election shows he has made no progress in chipping away at Labour’s lead. Voters have been left unimpressed by the Prime Minister’s barmy promises, including the return of National Service.
Our election tracker will reveal what the country really thinks every week between now and polling day on July 4.
The survey conducted by Whitestone Insight shows Keir Starmer’s party has a commanding 20 point lead, a week into the campaign. According to the poll, Labour has the support of 44% of voters with the Tories trailing on 24%. This is unchanged from a fortnight ago.
Reform has dropped two points to 11%, the Liberal Democrats are up one point to 9%. The Greens are on 6% and the SNP on 3%.
Worryingly for Mr Sunak, only 33% of Conservative voters think he is running a successful campaign, compared to 64% of Labour voters who say the same about their party. Overall, 30% of people picked Labour when asked whose campaign is going better compared to 8% who said the Tories.
Questioned on who has fresh ideas for the country, 30% said the opposition with 12% choosing the government. Labour has a lead on who has the best proposals to ease cost of living and who is offering tax cuts for working people.
It also is ahead on who has provided fully costed spending pledges. Some 23% said the party compared to 11% who chose the Conservatives. This is a triumph for Rachel Reeves, who has made economic credibility her top priority as Shadow Chancellor.
Asked which party is better at knocking on doors and being present in your local area, 17% said Labour and 6% said the Tories.
The only issue where the Conservatives were seen to be doing better was on policies for pensioners. Some 32% chose Mr Sunak’s party with 20% saying Labour.
The PM has been trying to shore up support amongst older voters by unveiling a promise to automatically increase income tax thresholds for the retired so those only receiving the state pension are not dragged into paying the levy. Labour has been seeking to snatch votes by warning that Mr Sunak’s plan to abolish national insurance completely would put the state pension at risk.
The Tory campaign got off to a dreadful start as Mr Sunak got drenched outside No10, before he made a series of early gaffes including getting asked if he’s captaining a sinking ship while in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast.
The PM’s eye-catching plan to bring back National Service for 18-year-olds has also faced ridicule, including criticism for how it is funded by taking levelling up cash from some of the country’s poorest areas. But in recent days Labour’s campaign has been overshadowed by the row over whether Diane Abbott should be allowed to be one of the party’s candidates.
Whitestone Insight interviewed 2,005 adults in Britain online on May 29 and 30.
‘Rishi Sunak should get his soggy suit dry cleaned, ready for his exit from No10’
Analysis by John Stevens
When he walked out of Downing Street in the pouring rain to call the General Election, Rishi Sunak was gambling that he could take chunks out of Keir Starmer’s poll lead during the six-week campaign. But one week in there is no sign that he has made any progress at all.
Tory HQ will be alarmed if they look into the detail of our poll. A fifth of people who voted for them in 2019 now say they will support Labour.
The person who will be most delighted will be Rachel Reeves. The Shadow Chancellor has taken flak from some in the party for her tight grip on the purse strings. But after years of not being trusted by voters with the country’s finances, Labour is now seen as the party making pledges that are fully costed.
After going for broke, perhaps the PM should get that soggy suit dry cleaned, ready for a humiliating exit from No10.
