Popularity boost for Penny Mordaunt after sword-wielding Coronation role

Penny Mordaunt’s popularity has surged among the Tory grassroots since her sword-carrying role at the King’s Coronation.

The Tory MP for Portsmouth North was widely praised for how she carried out her official duties as Lord President of the Privy Council at the crowning ceremony earlier this month.

Donning a teal dress and cape, which featured a golf leaf embroidery motif, she held the 8lb (3.6kg) Sword of State aloft for 51 minutes before a global audience of millions.

It impressed not only royal spectators but the grassroots Conservative base too.

ConservativeHome’s latest survey of Tory members for May showed that Ms Mordaunt rose to the second most popular minister in Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet, up from fourth place last month.

Her net satisfaction rating is now 62.4, compared with 49.5 in April, according to the monthly poll of 3,300 party members.

Ms Mordaunt was the first woman in history to perform the role at a Coronation as a member of the Privy Council, a body of advisers to the sovereign that includes senior elected politicians and ceremonial officers.

The former Tory leadership hopeful, 50, revealed she had trained for carrying the sword by doing press-ups.

The poll also found that six ministers now have a negative rating among members, up from just one last month.

They are Michael Gove on -3.7, Grant Shapps on -5.8, Andrew Mitchell on -7.3, Jeremy Hunt on -7.4, Robert Jenrick on -9.5, and Thérèse Coffey on -10.4.

ConservativeHome said: “That’s a record – and a sign that the panel is thoroughly fed up with the Government as a whole. The scores of nearly everyone else is down, and those of the exceptions are only marginally up.”

The most popular Cabinet minister remains Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary. Meanwhile, James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, is in third place behind Ms Mordaunt.

Mr Sunak’s popularity has fallen from a 47.4 rating to 21.6 in just a month.