Truss, UK Prime Minister, Faces Plunge in Approval Ratings... Confronts Backlash Within Conservative Party

Conservative Party, 30 Percentage Point Gap in Approval Ratings with Opposition Parties

Prime Minister Liz Truss of the United Kingdom. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] A poll has revealed that opposition party support has significantly increased amid the crisis faced by UK Prime Minister Liz Truss over her tax cut policy controversy.

On the 8th (local time), YouGov announced that in a survey conducted from the 6th to 7th targeting 1,737 adults, the support rate for the ruling Conservative Party was 22%, which was 30 percentage points lower than the 52% support rate for the Labour Party. When asked who they thought would make the best prime minister between Prime Minister Truss and Labour leader Keir Starmer, only 14% chose Truss, while 43% chose Starmer.

In a poll conducted by Opinium Research from the 5th to 7th targeting 2,023 adults, Labour’s support rate was 47%, and the Conservative Party’s was 26%, showing a 21 percentage point difference. Although Prime Minister Truss endured the humiliation of abandoning the plan to abolish the top income tax rate of 45%, which had faced fierce criticism even within her party last week, there was little change in support ratings.

As the UK House of Commons is set to reopen this week, there is growing speculation that internal backlash criticizing Prime Minister Truss, who caused the party’s support to plummet within a month of taking office, will intensify. Foreign media reported that voices within the Conservative Party are opposing Truss’s plan to cut taxes while reducing welfare benefits and increasing borrowing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.