Support for Boris Johnson has plunged to its lowest level since the end of January, a new YouGov poll has revealed.
The Prime Minister’s popularity has taken a hit following criticism over a U-turn he made on COVID self-isolation and the growing unrest regarding workers being told to quarantine by the NHS COVID-19 app.
The latest YouGov/Times voting intention poll from 21 July showed the Conservative Party had 38% of the vote, which was 6% down on the previous survey on 16 July.
Labour’s position has improved by 3 points, and it now has a 34% share of the vote, while the Liberal Democrats are on 9% (+1), the Greens 8% (+2) and Reform UK have 3% of the vote.
Last week, the government performed a U-turn just three hours after announcing Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak would not have to self-isolate – despite both having come into contact with health secretary Sajid Javid, who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Sunday’s rapid turnaround came after anger erupted when the government announced both Johnson and Sunak would be taking part in the daily contact testing pilot that would allow them to continue working without quarantining.
The criticism came as thousands of people were being forced to miss work after being ‘pinged’.
Discontent with the government’s self-isolation policy has continued to grow as food industry bosses condemned changes to ease the “pingdemic” as “worse than useless”, hospitality leaders warned of a summer of closures and train operators were forced to cut services.
There were increasing calls for the PM to bring forward his wider relaxation of quarantine rules for the fully vaccinated from 16 August as businesses were hampered by staff being told to isolate as coronavirus cases soar.
To calm industry concerns, ministers published a limited list of critical sectors whose double-jabbed workers are eligible to avoid isolation if they undergo daily testing before the broader easing of rules for England.
