Boris Johnson’s approval rating as prime minister has dropped to an all-time low, according to the pollsters YouGov, after a turbulent week for the government on multiple fronts.
The pollsters said the prime minister’s net favourability rating now stood at -42 and had fallen 11 points since mid-November, with 66 per cent of the public having an unfavourable opinion of Mr Johnson.
The finding comes after a series of self-inflicted wounds on the government’s authority, including the Owen Paterson scandal and outrage over a Christmas party held at No 10 in the winter of 2020 when the rest of the country faced severe Covid restrictions.
According to YouGov, the episode appears to have hit the prime minister’s popularity, with just a quarter of respondents (24 per cent) having a positive opinion of him – giving him a net favourability rating of -42.
Earlier this week a separate poll found more than half of voters believe Mr Johnson should resign as prime minister over the festive gathering after a cabinet secretary investigation was launched in response to a leaked video of No 10 officials joking about the event.
Despite a boost in the Westminster voting intention polls for Labour, however, Sir Keir Starmer has been unable to make significant gains among the public with his own ratings, the pollsters added, with his net favourability changing slightly from -13 to -14.
But speaking earlier, the Labour leader challenged Tory MPs to oust Mr Johnson — who he described as “not fit for office” — from No 10, adding: “Are they prepared to go through the degrading of themselves and their party, to go out to the media, have to defend the indefensible for months to come?
“Or are they going to actually have the courage now to challenge him and say you’re not fit for office?”
“He’s not fit for office and because he’s not fit for office, he won’t resign and the question really is for Tory members of the Cabinet, Tory MPs, to ask themselves are they prepared to put up with this?”
Last week, another survey found the prime minister’s popularity among the Tory faithful had taken a hit after weeks of division over a myriad of issues, including scaled-back plans for social care reform, rows over sleaze, and accusations of betrayal over rail plans.
The monthly ‘cabinet league table’ survey by Conservative Home showed the prime minister second from bottom in net satisfaction ratings, with -17. The same survey in October had Mr Johnson on +20.
