Rishi Sunak was bolstered today by indicators that the Conservatives are regaining ground since he became prime minister.
In the wake of Liz Truss’s catastrophic tenure, an Opinium survey reveals that Labour’s lead has shrunk from 27 points to 16 points in the previous week.
Although this is still sufficient for Keir Starmer to win a large majority in a general election, Downing Street will be relieved that the drastic abandonment of Ms. Truss’s proposals is resonating with people.
Michael Gove has issued an unusual apology to the British public for the Conservatives’ 49-day leadership of Ms. Truss.
The Leveling Up Secretary, a vociferous critic of the tax-cutting measures that sent markets into a tailspin, said he understood the public’s outrage that the government had taken a “vacation from reality.”
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mr. Sunak issued a fresh warning about ‘tough decisions’ as he and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt prepare a Budget that is anticipated to contain £50 billion in expenditure cuts and tax increases.
The Prime Minister, who moved into Downing Street over the weekend, reiterated that inflation is the “No. 1 adversary” and that its management is the only way to prevent interest rates from rising even further.
However, Mr. Sunak is facing renewed criticism for re-appointing Suella Braverman as Home Secretary, after she resigned over the release of classified information when serving under Ms. Truss.
In addition, he is under further pressure for skipping the COP27 meeting in Egypt, with the UK’s COP27 president expressing regret and asserting that Boris Johnson will attend.
In a survey conducted by Opinium between Wednesday and Friday, support for the Conservatives increased by five percentage points to reach 28%.
In the meantime, Labour fell six points to 44%.
It comes after YouGov data from Tuesday and Wednesday indicated Sir Keir’s party had a 28-point lead as Mr. Sunak took his first PMQs and became premier.
This was a decrease from the eye-popping 37 points recorded four days prior, when it was unclear who would succeed Ms. Truss.
The Conservatives increased their support from 19 percent to 23 percent, while Labour dropped from 56 percent to 51 percent, contributing to the narrowing.
Survation revealed a similar regaining of territory, with the Tories gaining four points in a week to reach 27% and Labour losing one point to reach 51%.
In an opinion piece for The Sun, Mr. Gove stated, “This summer, we made the wrong decision over the course we should take.
Plans to reduce taxes on the wealthy were a vacation from reality.
A mini-budget that failed to specify how expenditure plans would be funded was flawed. To put it delicately.
In the summer, as Mr. Gove’s government was collapsing, his former “rival” Mr. Johnson abruptly dismissed him. He supported Kemi Badenoch and subsequently Mr. Sunak in the competition to succeed him.
Mr. Gove was one of the ringleaders of the mutiny against Ms. Truss and then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini budget at the Tory Party conference earlier this month, forcing a retreat over the plan to eliminate the 45p top rate of tax.
Ms. Truss’s furious associates accused him of “getting his kicks in a nasty manner.”
After replacing Ms. Truss in Downing Street, Mr. Sunak offered him a return to government in his former position.
Mr. Gove stated that the new Prime Minister possesses “the expertise, competence, and compassion to navigate us through the turbulent economic waters ahead.”