Jeremy Hunt’s attempt to revive the Conservative Party’s fortunes appears to have fallen flat, according to the latest polling, with Labour’s lead over the Tories stretching on the back of the announcement.
According to Opinium, Sir Keir Starmer’s party now has a 16-point lead and is all but certain to be the next party in government as the Tories slip to 26 per cent of the vote.
Both Starmer and Rishi Sunak’s approval ratings have seen minor improvements.
Starmer’s net approval now sits at -7 per cent (+3), with 31 per cent approving and 38 per cent disapproving, and Sunak’s net approval is now -26 (+5), with 26 per cent approving and 52 per cent disapproving.
However, Keir Starmer has a 6-point lead on who UK voters think would make the best prime minister, with the Labour leader on 29 per cent (+22) vs. 23 per cent (+1) for Sunak.
Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement was received better by the public than the mini-budget last year.
Almost a quarter (23 per cent) thought the Autumn Statement was good in comparison to just 12 per cent who thought the mini-budget was good when asked last year, while only 27 per cent thought the Autumn Statement was bad compared to over half (61 per cent) who thought the mini-budget was bad.
However, the overall jury is still out about Wednesday’s announcements, with 50 per cent unsure whether they felt it was good or bad.
The increase in state pension (71 per cent) and national living wage (78 per cent) were the most popular measures announced in the Autumn Statement.
The national insurance cuts were also relatively popular, including the 2 per cent reduction for employees (63 per cent) and the 1 per cent cut in self-employed national insurance (59 per cent).
Adam Drummond, Head of Policy & Social Research at Opinium said: “Expecting a single fiscal event to revive the ratings of a 13-year old government may be unrealistic but, compared to the black-swan event of last year’s equivalent, it’s possible that the relative quietness of this week’s autumn statement is a measure of success.
“However, the Conservatives still trail Labour on handling the economy and only 20 per cent of voters want tax cuts if it also means cutting spending on public services so it’s hard to see promises of future cuts appealing to those outside the Tory base”
Related: ‘He’s no journalist, he’s a muppet’ – Tommy Robinson hammered for latest claim
