‘I no longer trust the Conservative party and have only ever voted for them.’
Following the ‘Partygate’ controversy, the public’s faith in the government has been significantly corroded, with more than half of Conservative voters in the last general election believing the PM is untruthful.
These dismal stats for the Prime Minister were revealed by a new tracking poll from the campaign group, 38 Degrees. The polling was carried out by Survation in mid-December, with a population sample of 2,039 UK residents.
The PM can’t be trusted
The latest in the group’s regular polling into the health of the UK’s democracy, found that 51% of those who voted Conservative in the 2019 general election are of the opinion that the Prime Minister cannot be trusted. The marks an 8% rise since the polling conducted the previous month, before the Christmas party scandal emerged.
The same number of voters who had voted for a Conservative government in the last election say the government does not act with integrity. 53% believe it is dishonest, more than when voters were asked the same questions following the Owen Paterson and MPs with second jobs scandal.
Regardless of their voting persuasion in 2019, more than two thirds (68) of all voters believe the PM is dishonest.
‘Destroyed’ faith
Former Conservative voters shared the reasons they have lost faith in the Prime Minister and the government.
Susan, a Conservative Party voter in Moray, said: “I am 72 years old and have voted for the Conservatives all my life. To be honest mainly because there was no other party, in my opinion, who had the wherewithal to run the country. Unfortunately, the behaviour of many elected Conservative members has destroyed my faith in their ability to continue to lead this country out of the brutalised economy caused by Covid. The disgusting behaviour committed by these privileged morons who blatantly flout the rules by attending parties, the people who organise these parties, the people who travel to their 2nd,3rd or even 4th property when told not to. These people are laughing at us, laughing at our gullibility.”
“I no longer trust the Conservative party and have only ever voted for them. I feel like they are corrupt…I don’t think the government have given us anything to trust them on bar from vaccines,” said Catriona, a Conservative Party voter in Norwich North.
Sentiment shared by Tory voter Alan, in Don Valley, who said: “I have always supported Boris but this complete disregard for what most people were experiencing together with his total lack of taking responsibility for what happened has made me feel a complete lack of confidence in his judgement. I think we should be able to expect our Prime m>nister to be honest and to take responsibility rather than lay blame on others.”
In response to the polling and the comments, Ellie Gellard, strategy director of 38 Degrees, said:
“Voters want honesty from the country’s leaders – it’s a basic sign of respect.”
The damning findings of the polling come after an extremely damaging week for the Prime Minister which saw the Tories lose a by-election in a seat they have held for nearly 200 years, his right-hand Brexit man unexpectedly quit, and the PM face a huge backbench rebellion over Covid restrictions.
Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward.
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