Liz Truss and Tories’ approval ratings take another hit in fresh poll

Liz Truss and the Tories’ approval ratings have again plummeted in a fresh poll – as Labour jumped to a 19-point lead.

The Opinium poll showed 55% of voters disapprove of the new prime minister and just 18% approve, which is worse than Boris Johnson’s final days in office.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is no more popular after the pair doubled down on economic policies announced last week, with 55% also disapproving of him and 27% approving.

Labour has seen yet another boost with the party setting a 19-point lead, according to the new Opinium poll.

The party now has 46% of the vote share while the Conservatives have dropped to 27%.

This is the most recent poll following several this week that have painted a similar picture after the pound plunged and the Bank of England had to step in following the mini-budget announcement.

Taken from 28-30 September, the poll comes just before the Conservative Party conference starts on Sunday in Birmingham.

Ms Truss arrived on Saturday evening but nearly two dozen senior Tory MPs, as of then, had told Sky News they were not attending in a setback for Ms Truss.

The poll also found just one in five people think the Tories are best placed to handle the economy compared with 39% who think a Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer would be better.

And 75% of all voters think the government has lost control of the economy, with 71% of Tory voters thinking the same versus just 24% of Tories who think they are in control.

There are reports of letters going in to the chairman of the backbench 1922 committee from MPs calling for a vote of no confidence.

Under current rules, Ms Truss is protected from a leadership challenge for a year from her election but the 1922 executive has the power to change those rules should the demand for a contest become overwhelming.

The latest bad poll for the government came as The Times reported Mr Kwarteng, hours after the mini-budget, attended a private champagne reception with hedge fund managers who could gain from the pound crashing.

The chancellor’s allies have denied he provided guests with any privileged information and said it was no secret the government wants to lower the tax burden.

The Lib Dems have demanded an inquiry into the event, with the party’s Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney saying: “While struggling homeowners saw their mortgage bills spiral, it seems the chancellor was sipping champagne with hedge fund managers profiting from the falling pound.

“How out of touch can you get? We need an official inquiry into this now.”

Polls taken earlier this week were no less positive for the Tories than the latest one.

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A YouGov/Times poll taken from 28-29 September placed Labour 33 points ahead of the Tories, believed to be the largest lead for Labour in any recorded poll since 1998, when the-then PM Tony Blair was enjoying his “honeymoon period”.

And a Survation poll carried out on 29 September had Labour on a 21-point lead – also the largest Labour lead the pollsters have ever recorded. Some 49% would vote for Labour while 28% for Conservatives, the survey found.

A Deltapoll/Mirror poll taken from 27-29 September put Labour 19 points ahead of the Tories, with 48% of voters saying they would vote for Labour and 29% for the Conservatives.