New polling has revealed that a majority of Brits now think the Conservatives are best placed to fix the economic damage they have inflicted on the country.
Rishi Sunak, the new prime minister, is currently drawing up tax rises and spending cuts designed to fill a £40 billion fiscal hole left by Liz Truss’s disastrous time in Downing Street.
The former PM plunged markets into turmoil after cutting taxes for the highest earners at the same time as ramping up public spending to deal with the cost of living crisis.
Sunak will now be tasked with making amends for her “mistakes”, and will present a budget along with the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, in a few weeks’ time.
Rishi bounce
New polling for the Observer has revealed that a ‘Rishi bounce’ has yet to fully register, with the Tories still 16 points behind Labour overall.
But surprisingly, he has helped repair the Conservatives’ reputation for financial management.
A third of voters say they would prefer “a Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak” to manage the economy, with 29 per cent choosing “a Labour government led by Keir Starmer”.
When asked in the previous poll last week, 39 per cent chose “a Labour government led by Keir Starmer”, with only 11 per cent choosing “a Conservative government led by Liz Truss.”
There is also evidence that Tory voters are returning to the party at the start of Sunak’s tenure.
Last week, only 41 per cent of Conservative voters chose a Conservative government led by Truss as their preference for managing the economy. The latest poll shows that 88 per cent now choose a government led by Sunak.
“Low bar”
Commenting on the findings, Adam Drummond, head of political and social research at Opinium, said: “The Conservatives under Rishi Sunak are doing better than they were under Liz Truss but Truss set the bar so low that it’s effectively a speed bump.
“The Tories have seen big jumps in the proportion of Britons trusting them to handle various big issues but from such a low base that Labour are still ahead on most.
“On the key subjects of the economy and who would make the best prime minister, Sunak and the Tories lead by 4 points after trailing by nearly 30 under Truss.
“The Conservative brand remains heavily damaged though and while the public are giving Rishi Sunak the benefit of the doubt, the Autumn Statement will give us a better idea of whether the current bounce will last.”
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