Six in 10 Tory voters suppose get together is in disaster in blow to Rishi Sunak

Almost six out of 10 Tory voters believe Rishi Sunak’s party is “in crisis” as it plunges new depths of unpopularity.

Damning polling by Savanta, carried out after the PM’s D-Day blunder, found 58% of those who voted Conservative in 2019 believe the party’s in turmoil. And that rises to 69% across the wider public.

Just 18% of people believe the Tories aren’t in crisis, Savanta found. Mr Sunak is expected to slump to a humiliating defeat on July 4, and has even had to bat away speculation that he might quit before polling day.

A YouGov poll this week found the Conservatives were likely to get 18% of votes cast – just one percentage point ahead of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. And the Savanta research found that 85% who plan to vote for Reform think the Tories are in crisis. Just 13% were undecided.

Emma Levin, associate director at Savanta, said: “When senior Government ministers are having to confirm that their leader will definitely still be around by polling day, it’s unsurprising that the voters have picked up a sense of crisis enveloping the Conservative Party.”

“Our research suggests that some of Rishi Sunak’s key target voters – namely those currently saying they’re going to vote for Reform UK – are some of the most likely to say the Conservatives are in crisis.”

It comes after the PM was booed, heckled and confronted by angry members of the public in a brutal Sky News leaders’ debate. Host Beth Rigby even questioned whether he’d stay at the helm if he were to win the General Election.

Shell-shocked Mr Sunak faced the ire of furious NHS staff, disgruntled young voters and even a former local Tory chair on a horror evening in Grimsby. And a snap YouGov poll after the debate confirmed that the PM had been trounced, with 64% saying Keir Starmer had come up on top.

Mr Sunak was confronted with the unprecedented Tory turmoil since the 2019 election. Since then Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and the current incumbent have held the top job.

Ms Rigby asked him: “We’ve had three Prime Ministers, five Chancellors, five Home Secretaries, six Health Secretaries. How do we know that if you won the General Election, you’d still be Prime Minister in a year’s time?”

Mr Sunak – who has struggled to hold his warring party together in recent months – responded: “Look I can appreciate people’s frustrations. Of course, we haven’t got everything right. I don’t think any Government does. And I know it’s been very difficult for many people, but what I can do is work as hard as I can to deliver the stability that I said I would.”

Earlier this week he had to deny suggestions he might quit before the election. Asked whether resigning had crossed his mind, Mr Sunak told broadcasters during a visit to the Dog and Bacon pub in Horsham: “No, of course not. I’m energised about the vision that we’re putting forward for the country.”

It came after he came under fire for leaving a D-Day commemoration in Normandy early, leaving David Cameron to be pictured with world leaders. He has since begged voters to forgive him and admitted it was a mistake.

Savanta interviewed 2,226 UK adults aged 18+ online between 7-9 June