Boris Johnson is regarded as “untrustworthy” by six in 10 Britons and is being beaten on trust by Sir Keir Starmer, reveals an exclusive new poll that will set alarm bells ringing at 10 Downing Street.
The findings by Ipsos MORI in tonight’s Evening Standard will increase the alarm in Tory circles after weeks of leaks and allegations about sleaze.
With the Prime Minister battling claims about his conduct on several fronts, he is revealed to be trusted by just 35 per cent of voters and deemed untrustworthy by a clear majority of 59 per cent.
Labour leader Sir Keir is regarded as trustworthy by 42 per cent and not to be trusted by 41.
The poll followed weeks of revelations about murky donations to fund an expensive refurbishment of the PM’s flat and disclosures about covert lobbying by tycoon Sir James Dyson and financier Lex Greensill. It was taken before the latest row whether or not Mr Johnson said he would prefer to see “bodies pile high” than lockdown the economy again and before former No 10 aide Dominic Cummings went nuclear in a 1,000-word statement that branded his ex-boss “unethical, foolish [… and] possibly illegal”.
Despite the rows it found net satisfaction with the Government and the PM was little changed from March. Both Johnson and Starmer have net negative ratings, but Chancellor Rishi Sunak gets a glowing review with 58 per cent satisfied and just 27 per cent dissatisfied. For Johnson the split is 44 satisfied /50 dissatisfied, and for Starmer it is 36/46.
However net satisfaction in Sir Keir among Labour supporters has fallen slightly over the past month. Only just over half of his party’s backers, 51 per cent, are satisfied, while 39 per cent are dissatisfied. That is down from a split of 52 satisfied / 33 per cent dissatisfied in March.
On trust, former Prime Minister David Cameron is revealed to have suffered a big loss of trust, suggesting that the lobbying scandal has dented his reputation. Only 21 per cent described him as trustworthy, down from 43 per cent in 2013 when he was still at No 10. Some 74 per cent deemed him untrustworthy, up from 51 per cent in 2013.
Labour ex-PM Tony Blair was trusted by 23 per cent, and distrusted by 69 per cent.
Three ex-Premiers have positive trust ratings. Theresa May is seen as trustworthy by 50 per cent, with 45 per cent saying the opposite. For Gordon Brown the split is 47-41, which is a turnaround from the negative 41-55 split he scored in April 2010, indicating that his reputation has improved since he left office.
John Major has the best net trust rating, with 48 per cent deeming him trustworthy and just 36 per cent saying the opposite.
Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI said: “On honesty Boris Johnson is clearly trumped by Keir Starmer, so this is an area of potential risk for him. However, his own supporters still trust him, and the public overall have never seen it as one of his strongest attributes … and as previous leaders such as Tony Blair have shown, you don’t have to be ahead on trust to win elections. The key question is whether and if these stories continue and start to change the public’s overall view on him as PM.
A big majority of 72 per cent think MPs do not generally tell the truth. And when asked whose interests they put first, 43 per cent responded “their own”, while 36 per cent said “their party’s”. Just eight per cent said MPs put their constituents’ interests first, and just six per cent said they put the country’s interests first. The dismal findings are actually an improvement from the days of the expenses scandal a decade ago, when 62 per cent of people thought they put their own interests first.
* Ipsos MORI interviewed 1090 adults across GB by telephone from April 16 to 22. Data are weighted. Full details at www.ipsos-mori.com
*story by The Evening Standard
