Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership crisis deepens as his personal rating plummets below Boris Johnson’s as the PM enjoys a ‘vaccine bounce’ in the polls as he lays out his lockdown roadmap
- Starmer’s approval rating with the public now sits at 0, with Boris on 3 per cent
- PM’s rating has increased from minus territory since the start of the year
- Suggests he is reaping a minor ‘vaccine’ bounce in the polls
Sir Starmer’s Labour leadership took a fresh hit today as a new poll revealed he is less popular than Boris Johnson in the eyes of the public for the first time.
The Opposition Leader’s approval rating with the public now sits at 0, meaning the public is equally split over whether they approve, disapprove or are indifferent to his efforts.
The findings in the survey by Redfield and Wilton Strategies show Sir Keir’s approval rating fell 7 per cent in the past week.
The poll was taken on Monday February 22, the day Mr Johnson unveiled his strategy for taking England out of lockdown during the spring.
His personal rating rose to 3 per cent, having been increasing from minus territory since the start of the year. This suggests he is reaping a minor ‘vaccine bounce’ in the polls as more and more people get Covid jabs.
However, the poll found that both men lag way behind Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has a net approval rating of +30 per cent.
The poll also revealed a rise in support for the Tories. Redfield and Wilton put them up 2 per cent on 43 per cent, while Labour slipped 1 per cent to 37 per cent.
The Government’s net competency rating also rose to -5 per cent, up from -13 per cent three weeks ago.
The findings chime with a previous poll last week, as Mr Starmer attempts to stamp his authority on a party becoming restless amid his failure to capitalise on Tory failures during the lockdown.
A Savanta ComRes survey put his net favourability at minus four, down two points in the past month, while Mr Johnson’s rose from minus eight to minus two in a month.
The Labour leader also fell further behind on the question of who would make the best prime minister, with 27 per cent choosing him (down from 31) compared with 43 for Mr Johnson (up from 38).
The signs of a vaccine boost for Mr Johnson came as Gavin Williamson claimed coronavirus vaccine supply issues are not to blame for Britain’s roll-out suffering its worst slump in a month.
The Education Secretary insisted today there was ‘no problem’ with deliveries of doses and said ‘there will always be some days’ when uptake dips lower.
Figures show just 150,000 Covid vaccines jabs were dished out in the UK on Sunday, the worst daily output since the scheme began to pick up pace last month. And just 210,000 doses were administered on Monday, down by more than a quarter on the previous week.
Despite the concerning trend, Mr Williamson said he had ‘every confidence’ the mammoth NHS operation would be ‘rebounding back very shortly’.
The comments contradicted Matt Hancock who revealed yesterday a European-wide vaccine supply shortage could lead to ‘quieter’ weeks ahead for Britain’s jab drive.
And Jonathan Van Tam also weighed in today, saying the dip has come about as a result of ‘supply fluctuations’.
One of the main problems is thought to be lower than expected output at manufacturing sites in AstraZeneca’s supply chain on the continent.
The British drugmaker, which manufactures Oxford University’s Covid jab, has told the European Union it will only be able to deliver less than half of its contracted supplies before summer, raising fears the UK’s orders could also be affected.
Almost 18million Britons have already received a first dose of a Covid vaccine and Boris Johnson has put a successful jab roll-out at the heart of his lockdown-easing plan.
As long as the operation continues successfully, all restrictions could be dropped in England by June 21, but any hiccups along the way could threaten that target.
The Government has pledged to offer first doses to all over-50s by April 15, with all remaining adults set to be reached by the end of July.