THE Tories have received a poll boost following the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, it emerged tonight (Thursday).
A poll by GB News saw the party’s support rise from 14% last week to 20% this week – meaning the Tories have secured a 6% increase.
But the GB News People’s Poll saw 51% of voters say they’d back Labour at a General Election, which means Keir Starmer still commands a massive 31% lead. The Lib Dems were at 9%, the Greens at 5%, and the SNP at 5%.
In a further boost to Mr Sunak, voters also appear to trust him far more to manage the economy than Liz Truss.
Of those surveyed by GB News, 19% said they backed Sunak to guide us through the economic crisis, compared to just 5% who said they felt safer with Liz Truss.
Thirty-two per cent said they felt Keir Starmer was best placed to manage the economy.
The poll was conducted by BPC-registered People Polling, and surveyed 1,185 adults in the UK on Wednesday October 26,
However, in the week Mr Sunak faced criticism over reappointing Suella Braverman as Home Secretary, the poll found voters seem to have little faith in either of the two main parties to get a grip on immigration.
Of those polled, just 18% said they backed the Tories to deal with the issue, while less than one in three, 29%, said they felt Keir Starmer would sort out Britain’s immigration crisis.
Commenting last night Matthew Goodwin, Professor of Politics at the University of Kent, said: “Rishi Sunak faces the political equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. Our results suggest that he has walked a few steps toward base camp but still has a very, very long way to climb.
“Make no mistake, while this suggests some improvement this is still wipeout territory for the Tories. We are still on historic lows.
“The economy is, by far, the most important issue in the country and the Conservatives are still lagging well behind Labour. Rishi Sunak needs to get his arms around this issue, quickly, otherwise things will only get worse as we head through the most difficult winter and spring in this country for fifty years.”
On immigration Prof Goodwin added: “Don’t believe the hype, that voters no longer care about immigration. They do. It is a top three issue for the conservative voters Rishi Sunak will need to win back if he is to stand a chance at the next election. And what we find in the data is a widespread reservoir of disillusionment in the country. Neither left nor right are fully in tune with the country on this issue”.
