Despite all her problems, May’s getting more popular
THERESA May has become more popular despite the recent turmoil in her Cabinet, it emerged last night.
A poll revealed she was still ahead of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as the voters’ choice for Prime Minister.
The YouGov survey was conducted following the resignation of Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon on November 3.
It found 34 per cent of voters said Mrs May was their preferred choice for PM – a rise of one point since a month ago.
A total of 31 per cent chose Mr Corbyn, down two points in a month. Voters who said they didn’t know totalled 35 per cent.
The poll is a boost to Downing Street after a difficult fortnight in which Mrs May has grappled with the Westminster sexual harassment scandal.
Asked which party they preferred, voters put Labour on 43 per cent, up one point on last month. The Conservatives were unchanged on 40 per cent and the Lib Dems were down two points on 6 per cent.
It shows that despite Mrs May dealing with difficult Brexit negotiations and distracted by allegations against her ministers, Mr Corbyn is still struggling to break through with voters.
The poll of 2,012 voters was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday this week before Priti Patel quit as International Development Secretary on Wednesday night over unofficial meetings with Israel. The propor- tion of people who think Mrs May should stand down has fallen. Some 32 per cent say she should leave now, six points down from a month ago. That compares to 42 per cent saying she should stay, up three points. Vot- ers remained heavily split over who should replace Mrs May as Tory leader, with ‘don’t know’ winning 37 per cent of votes, ahead of ‘none of those named’ on a list of choices which won 27 per cent. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson won 10 per cent, ahead of Jacob Rees-Mogg on 8 per cent, with Brexit Secretary David Davis and Home Secretary Amber Rudd both on 4 per cent.
AFTER another turbulent week – with two ministerial resignations, the ‘Pestminster’ affair rumbling on and the EU’s Brexit negotiators as intransigent as ever – you might expect Theresa May to be wilting under the strain. But not a bit of it.
Indeed, the Prime Minister is turning out to be a true fighter, determined to stamp her authority on the Government and focus on the job that matters most.
Take her handling of Priti Patel’s venture off- piste, when the ex- International Development Secretary foolishly took it into her head to conduct her own private foreign policy through unauthorised meetings with Israeli politicians and officials.
A weaker prime minister might have allowed this clear breach of the ministerial code to pass with a rap on knuckles. As it was, Mrs May insisted on Miss Patel’s resignation – while commendably replacing her with another committed Brexiteer.
Her message was clear. Though the Tories may have lost their overall majority, she will not allow mavericks to exploit her perceived vulnerability and distract from the vital task of getting on with Brexit. Now she has rammed the message home, by announcing she will enshrine the time and date of withdrawal in law: 11pm on March 29, 2019 – no ifs, no buts.
True, it is debatable whether this will jolt the EU’s pig-headed negotiators, still stubbornly issuing unmeetable demands over cash and the Irish border. Contemptibly, Michel Barnier even threatens that unless we capitulate within two weeks, he will delay trade talks until spring.
But as a statement of purpose, Mrs May’s move leaves no room for doubt – no matter how often the BBC may wheel out Remoaners such as Lord Heseltine and exambassador Lord Kerr to undermine her.
Meanwhile, it becomes ever clearer that the more the EU bullies her, the more the fair-minded public swings behind her. Polls show two-thirds of voters now believe Brussels is engaged in a petty campaign to punish the UK for choosing to leave.
With manufacturing and services forging ahead, there’s also a growing perception that Britain is fighting fit to face the world after Brexit, deal or no deal.
Isn’t it hugely significant that, after such a week as this, Mrs May’s personal poll ratings have actually improved, putting her ahead of Jeremy Corbyn as the public’s preferred choice of prime minister?
In the midst of the turmoil, some commentators have suggested Mrs May could be gone by Christmas. But on the evidence of her performance this week, and with no convincing candidate to challenge her, this paper believes reports of her demise could prove decidedly premature.