UK voters believe Rishi Sunak will make good PM: Opinion poll

London, July 17

Almost half of the voters for the UK’s governing Conservative Party believe Rishi Sunak will make a good Prime Minister, according to the results of a new opinion poll on Sunday.

‘The Sunday Telegraph’ reports that the JL Partners poll of more than 4,400 people found that 48 per cent of those who backed the Tories in the 2019 general election felt the British Indian former Chancellor would be a good Prime Minister. This is also the first poll that puts Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in second place with 39 per cent backing her for Prime Minister and 33 per cent in favour of Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt.

The survey comes as the race to elect Boris Johnson’s successor as the next Conservative Party leader is narrowing down to these three main contenders with former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch and Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Tom Tugendhat in fourth and fifth place, respectively. “Among those who have heard of Mordaunt, the overwhelming view is one of neutrality,” James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners and a former Downing Street pollster, told the newspaper.

“Sunak invites strong opinions. One-third of voters think he will be good in the top job, one third do not. But in an unpopular field where every other candidate is in net-negative territory, this score draw makes him the public’s favourite,” he said.

Among all voters, the most popular policy priority was to “turn the economy around”, with addressing the National Health Service backlog and restoring trust and integrity in public life coming second and third respectively. Cutting taxes, which has emerged as a central focus of all the debates so far, was the fourth priority, selected by 38 per cent of voters overall and 40 per cent of Conservative voters. The JL Partners poll, which also delved into the characteristics voters are seeking from a new leader, found that 19 per cent of Conservative supporters and 24 per cent of voters overall most wanted a leader who is “truthful”. — PTI

Another survey puts Badenoch in lead

Another survey for the Conservative Home website of 850 Tory members put former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch in the lead at 31 per cent, with Truss second at 20 per cent, Penny Mordaunt third at 18 per cent, Sunak fourth at 17 per cent and Tugendhat fifth at 10 per cent.