Liz Truss approval ratings have plummeted and she ‘has contributed to the government as a whole losing its political credibility’

Just days ahead of the Conservative Party Conference, Opinium’s latest poll shows public approval for Liz Truss has plummeted with the Prime Minister’s approval rating now at net -37.

Over half (55%) of the general public disapprove of the job Truss is doing, with only 18% approving.

To rub salt into the wound, Truss’ approval rating is worse than Boris Johnson’s last numbers on 22nd June, when 27% approved vs 55% disapprove (net -28). However, it is slightly better than Johnson’s worst ever score of net -42 (22% approve vs 64% disapprove) on 12th January when the worst of the Partygate story broke.

The Chancellor has found himself in a similar position, with over half (55%) disapproving of the job Kwasi Kwarteng is doing and only 15% approving – with his net approval rating falling sharply from -10 to -40 in just one week.

By comparison, Keir Starmer has seen a big increase in his personal rating, as 38% approve of the job he is doing while 29% disapprove, giving a net score of +9 (up from -4 on 21^st September 2022).

Labour has also seen a huge jump in voting intention in the last week, and the party now has a 19-point lead. Labour has 46% of the vote share (+7) while the Conservatives have dropped to 27% (-7).

Economic handling

Following the fall out of last week’s mini-budget, the Conservatives have lost a drastic amount of public trust, with just one in five (20%) thinking Truss and the Tories are best placed to handle the economy (-10), compared to 39% who think a Keir Starmer Labour government would be better (+10). This means a Conservative lead of 1-point has turned into a Labour lead of 19-points.

Further to this, three quarters (75%) think the UK government has lost control over the economic situation, while only 18% think the government is in control. As many as 71% of 2019 Conservative voters think the government has lost control vs 24% who think it is in control.

State of the economy

With the markets and Britain’s currency currently in turmoil, four in five (81%) think the economy is in a bad state, compared to only 5% who think it is in a good state. This is even worse than at the height of the pandemic, when 69% thought that the economy was in a bad state and 9% thought it was in a good state (1 July 2020).

Should they go?

The Conservative leadership is under fire with half (51%) of the general public wanting Kwasi Kwarteng to resign as Chancellor of the Exchequer, while only 18% want him to remain in office. This includes 48% of 2019 Conservatives who want him to resign, and only 25% who want him to stay.

Similarly, things aren’t looking good for Liz Truss either just three weeks into her term as almost half (48%) want her to resign, whilst only a quarter (26%) want her to remain as leader. Only two in five (40%) 2019 Conservative voters were her to stay in office, while almost the same proportion (38%) want her to resign as leader.

James Crouch, Head of Policy & Public Affairs at Opinium said, “This is the worst poll result we have shown for a Conservative prime minister since the 2010 general election.

“Liz Truss has managed to reach the depths of the poor personal ratings of both Theresa May and Boris Johnson at the end of their tenure, within weeks of taking office and within days of her government’s first major action.

“While the prime minister’s own approval ratings have plummeted, she has also contributed to the Conservative government as a whole losing its political credibility and reputation for economic competence almost overnight.

“If Liz Truss can turn it around, all of us are waiting with bated breath to see how she can.”