Recent events see Home Secretary's unpopularity accelerate

Support for the Home Secretary has suffered a significant decline in the last two months, implying her most recent incidents in office have accelerated her unpopularity.  

Not new to controversy, Braverman has been subject of a series of scandals over the last weeks from speeding fines to her statements on immigration.

The latest poll by Opinium showed her approval rating drop to -36, down from -20 in March, performing worse than Rishi Sunak on almost all measures among both 2019 Conservative voters and voters more widely.

It comes as her attempts to defend the government’s approach to refugees has continued to encounter heavy criticism, whilst allegations that she asked civil servants for help with a speeding fine led to calls for an investigation into whether she broke the ministerial code.

Let us not forget she’s already been forced to resign from the same post under the Liz Truss leadership after forwarding an email containing confidential information to a Conservative colleague.

It may be unsurprising then that the polling found Braverman received the lowest ratings on being out of touch with ordinary people, followed by her trustworthiness.

In response to whether the Home Secretary was handling her job well, 50% disapproved whilst 14% approved, which reflects a significant change from in March when 18% approved of her performance and 38% disapproved.

Results of the poll pose the question whether her unpopularity is down to her hardline views or because those who agree with her think she’s failing on policy promises, given the latest figures which showed net migration reached a record high last year, despite Brexiteer Braverman arguing that leaving the EU would allow the government to ‘take control’ of UK borders.

Adam Drummond, head of political and social research at Opinium commented that, “unfortunately for the government it’s a hefty amount from both columns”.

Although Sunak also performed poorly on being out of touch and representing what people think, Braverman suffered particularly low ratings including on being trusted with big decisions, where she was scored -28, against Sunak on -11.  

This could pose a blow for Braverman’s hopes to make a future bid for party leadership, which has been a source of recent speculation among Tory MPs.

Her recent speech at the NatCon conference was condemned by Tory MPs as ‘outrageous’ after she was accused of undermining Sunak’s leadership as she laid out a personal political philosophy, seen as a set of ideas for a post-election leadership bid.  

But whether it’s accusations of breaking the ministerial code, hard-right ideological policies, blaming the left and civil servants for government incompetence, or failing her supporters on policy promises, it seems the wider public are not impressed.

(Photo credit: Brandon Hattiloney / No 10 Downing Street)

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