Liz Truss’s personal approval rating nosedives after Tory conference

Liz Truss’s personal rating has plumetted to a new low following the Tory party conference, a new poll has shown.

The prime minister’s personal approval rating of -47 is now the worst ever recorded for a prime minister in an Opinium poll for the Observer.

It is even worse rating than that recorded for Boris Johnson during Partygate and Theresa May in the weeks before her resignation.

Her net approval rating has fallen by 10 points since last week as a result of a significant rise in the number of voters who say they “disapprove” of the job she is doing.

The figure for those who disapprove of the job she was doing, was up nine points to 64 per cent with only 16 per cent who approve.

Her approval figures are almost as bad among Leave voters as Remain voters, even though she backed the Brexit campaign.

Among Leavers, 61 per cent disapprove of the job she is doing, while 19 per cent approve.

Among Remainers, 74 per cent disapprove, while 12 per cent approve. Truss successfully won the mantle of the Brexiter candidate for the Tory leadership, despite having backed remain during the EU referendum campaign.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s ratings are even worse at -51 overall.

It follows a mini-budget blamed for crashing the pound and causing market chaos which triggered an intervention from the Bank of England.

It led to a U-turn over abolishing the top 45p rate of tax.

As Truss’s popularity sank even further Keir Starmer’s figures are almost unchanged, with a net approval of +9 according to the poll.

Just over half of voters think she should resign, according to the polling for the Observer.

Only a quarter of voters think she should remain Tory leader.

Among voters who backed the Tories at the last election, 41 per cent say she should remain in post, while 39 per cent say she should resign.

Overall, Labour’s lead of 21 points is now the biggest Opinium has ever recorded, though the company started polling after the peak of New Labour’s popularity. Labour has tended to have smaller leads than recorded with other polling companies because of the way Opinium treats how likely voters are to cast a ballot.

After a Tory conference characterised by public spats among cabinet ministers over immigration, tax and welfare, voters were unsurprisingly clear on which party had enjoyed the better conference. Asked about Labour’s conference, 44 per cent said it had gone well, with 12 per cent believing it had gone badly. For the Conservatives, 19 per cent thought it had gone well, with 49 per cent saying it had gone badly.

The Conservatives are holding on to just 60 per cent of their 2019 voting coalition.

Labour is holding on to 87 per cent of its 2019 voters. 61 per cent of all voters say there should be a general election this year, with a quarter against the idea.