The Executive of the Sutton Coldfield Association believes that Boris Johnson should quit. An anonymous Conservative MP says that Tory activists in his constituency conducted a poll amongst themselves where 65 per cent said that Boris Johnson should resign.
Lee Anderson is asking Facebook supporters if the Prime Minister should go. Danny Kruger, says that some “lifelong Conservative voters have decided they cannot vote for us again while Boris Johnson is leader”. What does our panel think?
The 53 per cent who think that Johnson should quit forthwith is lower than the 71 per cent who said in April 2019 that Theresa May should go then. There were 1270 responses then. I hope to ask the question less often than ConHome did in May’s case.
That 53 per cent will consist of a small proportion who have never cared for the Prime Minister – the same panel gave him a 93 point approval rating in our first post-general election Cabinet League Table – and a larger one that has concluded he should quit.
The 43 per cent who believe he should stay is no small minority. It will consist of Party members who believe the “Partygate” saga is media-hyped trivia, others who think it isn’t but believe that Johnson should remain, and some who will want him to go at a later date.
It would be an exaggeration to say that the panel is split down the middle, but not by all that much. Nonetheless, that over half of Party members want the Prime Minister out, if this return is representative, is a humiliating result for him, and shows a loss of confidence that may not be reversed.
This finding is consistent with recent surveys, which have found Johnson in negative ratings three times, twice recently in succession, and chalking up last month his worst score ever. A YouGov poll last week found 59 per cent of members saying he should remain and 34 per cent saying he should stand down.