UK government losing public approval over handling of virus

Less than a third of the public now approve of the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.

The poll found that approval of the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis is down four points to a new low. Only three in 10 people approve, giving the government an overall approval rating of -18 for its handling of the pandemic.

However, the pollsters found that disapproval of the way Boris Johnson is acting as prime minister appears to have levelled off, with no significant increases in either approval or disapproval over the past three weeks. He has a net approval score of -6 points. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer’s approval ratings remain very high on +24, but have dropped four points since last week.

Johnson still only has a one-point lead when voters are asked who makes the best prime minister – a historic low for him.

After seeing their poll lead shrink 23 points in the previous eight weeks, the Conservatives saw a slight increase over Labour this week. Their share of the vote went up 43% to 44%, while Labour suffered its first dip since the second week of April, down one point to 39%.

There are also signs that Brexit is re-emerging as an issue occupying the minds of voters. While dropping from the most important issue because of the coronavirus crisis, Opinium found it is “slowly but surely making a comeback” and is now just five points away from being level with the economy in terms of importance to voters.

Meanwhile, support is high for the government’s handling over the forcible removal of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, with over half of UK adults saying they disapprove of the protestors who pulled it down. Approval for the protestors is highest in London, at 42%.

Whilst 39% would have supported the removal of the statue of Colston by the local authority, 31% actively would have actively opposed this.

Opinium polled 2,001 people online between 11 and 12 June.