Over a third of the public think Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is doing ‘very badly’ while 29% think he is doing ‘quite badly’, according to research by Labour Together
Voters have told Rishi Sunak he'd be better suited sticking to being a banker as he's doing a bad job as Prime Minister.
Over a third think (34%) he is doing “very badly” while 29% think he is doing “quite badly”, according to research by Labour Together. Even 42% of people who voted Conservative in 2019 agreed Mr Sunak is doing a bad job. Just 50% of the public think he is well suited at being a politician, with more thinking he’d be well suited at being an accountant (61%) or a banker (58%).
It comes as fed up Tories spent last week plotting to replace Mr Sunak, who previously worked in investment banking and in hedge funds, with Commons leader Penny Mordaunt. She finally addressed the rumours this weekend to say talks of her challenging the PM were “nonsense”. Ms Mordaunt, who came third in the Tory leadership race won by Liz Truss in 2022, told BBC Politics South that she was "focussed on doing her current job" and called the speculation "bollocks".
Former Cabinet Minister Sir Simon Clarke, an ally of Ms Truss who in January publicly called for Mr Sunak to go, claimed just two more letters of no confidence in the PM needed to be submitted for him to be ousted. A total of 53 letters are required, with the number of those handed in only known by Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 backbench committee of Tories.
Ex-Boris Johnson aide Dominic Cummings was yesterday (SUN) accused of stirring the pot behind the scenes in a bid to “destroy” the Tory party, senior Conservative sources told the Mail on Sunday. Mr Sunak’s leadership has come under pressure after Lee Anderson, who had the Tory whip suspended, defected to Reform UK.
The party, founded by Nigel Farage as the Brexit party, is just four points behind the Conservatives, according to a recent YouGov poll. The survey put the Tories on 19% of the vote and Reform on 15%, while Labour remained miles ahead on 44%.
Some Tory MPs have urged for unity within the party amid the threat of Reform UK and complained that picking a new leader is not the right solution. Stoke-on-Trent North MP Jonathan Gullis said he wanted to "call out those idiots" who have been agitating against the PM.
Labour Together’s Director Josh Simons said: “The message from this polling is clear – the public knows that Rishi Sunak is out of touch and out of his depth. Not only do Britons think he is doing a bad job, they reckon he’s better suited to going back to banking.
“And with the Conservatives still languishing in the polls, while haemorrhaging voters to the insurgent Reform party, a career change for the PM might well come sooner rather than later.”
Labour Together interviewed 1,036 adults online in Great Britain between March 14 and 15.
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