A stunning 8 in 10 Britons are dissatisfied with how Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is running the country amid growing concerns about the future of the UK economy and public services.
The latest Ipsos Political Monitor, conducted between the 1st and 8th of November, found that just 13 per cent of the public are satisfied with the way the government is running the country, compared about 80 per cent who disapprove. On the performance of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, only 21 per cent approved of the job he is doing, while 66 per cent do not, with his approval ratings falling five per cent over last month.
Despite the left-wing opposition Labour Party holding a commanding 21 per cent advantage in voting intention over Sunak’s Tories in next year’s general election, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer does not fare too much better, with just 29 per cent of the country approving of his performance compared to 50 per cent who disapproved.
Nearly 8 in 10 (78 per cent) responded that they felt the quality of public services in Britain had declined over the past five years, while 64 per cent believe that the National Health Service (NHS) will decrease in quality over the next few years.
Meanwhile, just 25 per cent believed in the statement that “in the long term, the government’s policies will improve the economy.” On the other hand, 68 per cent disagreed, which is the highest score since the polling firm began to ask the question in 1980.
Commenting on the findings, Ipsos’s Cameron Garrett said that the poll represented the world performance of any prime minister since John Major, whose failures led to the blow-out victory of Tony Blair in 1997.
“The last time the public was this unwavering in their entrenched pessimism was the mid-90s,” Garrett said. ”
The poll comes amid more waffling from the government on reducing the tax burden on Britons, which is at its highest level since the Second World War.
While it has been reported that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi SUnak are contemplating a last-minute cut to income tax or on national insurance prior to the Autumn Statement on the economy, it remains to be seen how far the government would be willing to go.
Speaking on Sunday morning, Hunt downplayed expectations, saying that tax cuts are “not going to happen overnight” and that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
The Treasury chief did say, however, that lower taxes are “essential to economic growth” and therefore “everything is on the table right now”. This is a marked difference from Hunt’s comments in September, when he said that tax cuts this year would be “virtually impossible”.
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