London: Theresa May has suffered a startling decline in popularity since last month’s general election with a new opinion poll showing 61 per cent of voters now view her in a more negative light than they did when the electorate denied her an overall majority on June 8.
The extraordinary transformation in the prime minister’s ratings, which were sky high in early April after she called the snap election, has been accompanied by a rise in public respect for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, according to a new Opinion survey for the Observer.
Corbyn’s reinvigorated party is now on 45 per cent, six points ahead of the Tories (on 39 per cent), which if replicated in a general election would put Corbyn in a strong position to enter Downing Street as prime minister if one was called in the near future.
On 9 April, May’s approval rating stood at an impressive +21 per cent (where the percentage of those who disapprove of her leadership is subtracted from the number who approve) while that for Corbyn had sunk to -35 per cent.
In an extraordinary turnaround, May’s rating is now at -20 per cent (with 31 per cent approving her leadership and 51 per cent disapproving) while Corbyn’s has risen to +4 per cent with more approving of his stewardship of Labour (42 per cent) than disapproving (38 per cent). May’s struggle to form a coalition with the Democratic Unionist party and her much criticised immediate response to the Grenfell Tower disaster in west London, appear to have contributed to her post-election slump.
By contrast a newly confident Corbyn was seen as having reacted better to the tragedy and has enjoyed adulation from Labour supporters and young people, including at last weekend’s Glastonbury festival. May and Corbyn are now neck and neck when voters are asked who they believe would make the best prime minister, with 35 per cent saying May and 34 per cent Corbyn.
On Brexit, 41 per cent now disapprove of the way May is handling the negotiations on leaving the EU, against 32 per cent who approve. Some 47 per cent of those who backed leaving the EU approve of her handling of Brexit against 27 per cent who disapprove, while 56 per cent of remainers disapprove and only 21 per cent approve. While 43 per cent support the way Corbyn reacted to the Grenfell Tower, 23 per cent do not, and just 22 per cent approve of May’s reaction, against 50 per cent who are critical.
Robert Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester said: “This new poll suggests that the remarkable swing in political fortunes which began in the general election campaign has continued in the weeks after the vote.
Theresa May’s personal ratings have collapsed further, while Jeremy Corbyn’s have surged. “There have been a few occasions when the public have turned rapidly against a prime minister, for example Gordon Brown’s collapse in support in the autumn of 2007, when Vince Cable noted his “remarkable transformation ... from Stalin to Mr Bean.
Ford said that plunging numbers for a PM while an opposition leader surged in popularity was a rare occurrence. “While this will further increase the pressures on Theresa May, many Conservatives will be eager to avoid another election now they are trailing Labour in the polls. “Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn’s position in the party, in serious doubt just a few weeks ago, now looks unassailable. He is recording net positive personal ratings on a regular basis for the first time in his leadership, and Labour’s poll share of 45 per cent is among the best the party has seen since the height of Tony Blair’s popularity.”
