The majority of the public think MPs should vote to get rid of the Prime Minister this evening as the public think he is “untrustworthy, incompetent, weak and dislikeable.”
As MPs gear up to the vote of no confidence this evening, Opinium’s snap poll reveals three-fifths (59%) of the UK public think MPs should vote to get rid of Boris Johnson, compared to 28% who think they should vote to let him remain as leader. As many as 34% of Conservative voters also think it is time for the Prime Minister to go, while 53% think he should stay.
If Boris Johnson loses tonight’s vote, then over half (52%) think he should leave his position immediately, while 37% think he should continue until a new leader is found.
As things currently stand, just 28% think it’s likely that Johnson will lead the Tories into the next election, while 58% think it is unlikely.
Three in five (60%) now think the Conservative party is divided, compared to 29% who think it is united. Meanwhile 47% think Labour is united and 35% think the party is divided.
Johnson’s leadership
When it comes to the impact Johnson has had as leader, most people think his leadership has been bad for the country (58%), the economy (62%) and them personally (58%).
| Good | Bad | |
| For the country | 37% | 58% |
| For the UK’s reputation internationally | 34% | 60% |
| For the economy | 31% | 62% |
| For you personally | 30% | 58% |
| For the kind of country you want the UK to be | 32% | 60% |
On his leadership skills more generally, the public has an overall negative view. The majority think he is untrustworthy (71%), out of touch (71%), incompetent (65%), weak (58%) and dislikeable (55%). More than two thirds (69%) think he does not care about ordinary people.
Potential future leaders
When it comes to potential successors, there is a mixed picture as to who the public would support, with Jeremy Hunt the current best pick, although there is low awareness of many of the key contenders.
| Good | Bad | Don’t know enough to say | |
| Jeremy Hunt | 25% | 41% | 35% |
| Priti Patel | 17% | 68% | 15% |
| Michael Gove | 19% | 61% | 20% |
| Rishi Sunak | 34% | 52% | 14% |
| Dominic Raab | 25% | 54% | 21% |
| Sajid Javid | 25% | 54% | 21% |
| Tom Tugendhat | 15% | 25% | 61% |
| Liz Truss | 21% | 49% | 31% |
| Ben Wallace | 20% | 24% | 56% |
| Penny Mordaunt | 14% | 25% | 61% |
Chris Curtis, head of political polling at Opinium said, “Thankfully for the Prime Minister it will be Conservative MPs who decide his future tonight and not members of the public, because it is clear partygate has damaged the public’s faith in his leadership.
“Given that most voters now want him to go, even if he does survive tonight’s vote it is clear the Prime Minister has a big task on his hands to turn this around before the next election.”
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