Y Readers rap Boris over Covid-19

JPIMedia Survey - National picture Majority critical of handling of the coronavirus lockdown Other results from survey

As different parts of the UK emerge from the lockdown at different speeds, a poll of almost 12,000 readers of our newspapers and websites has revealed that a majority believe that Boris Johnson has not handled the coronavirus crisis well.

The survey, carried out by JPIMedia titles across the UK over the weekend, asked our readers a series of questions about the lockdown, and how the different administrations have responded to it.

The results of the survey showed that 35 per cent of people think Downing Street has handled the crisis “not at all well”, while 21 per cent replied with “not very well”.

Only 12 per cent of readers thought the Prime Minister and his cabinet had handled it “very well”.

When asked the same question about Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government, 26 per cent said they had dealt with the crisis very well. Another 45 per cent responded “somewhat well”.

This gives the UK Government a net approval rating of -13, compared to the Scottish Government’s +51 rating.

Arlene Foster and the Northern Ireland Executive scored an approval rating of +36. Based solely on those who answered that they live in Northern Ireland, the administration scored an approval rating of +44.

The proportion of readers who believe the UK Government has done a poor job of handling the crisis increased day-by-day over the weekend, from 51 per cent on Friday to 63 per cent on Monday.

During this time the story about the Prime Minister’s advisor Dominic Cummings taking a trip to Durham broke in the newspapers and has dominated the news agenda since.

In recent weeks the messaging around the crisis has diverged across the UK.

When asked how clear they thought the UK Government’s slogan of “Stay alert, control the virus, save lives” was, a majority of 62 per cent answered either “not very clear” or “not at all clear”.

By comparison, the Scottish Government’s continued message of “Stay at home” was judged to be “very clear” by 80% of respondents.

■ 45 per cent of people say the social distancing rules are not being followed closely

■ 69 per cent say they would feel comfortable visiting family members, if allowed

■ 60 per cent would be comfortable meeting up with a small group of friends

■ 37 per cent would be comfortable returning to their place of work

■ 18 per cent would be comfortable taking public transport.

■ 22 per cent wo uld be comfortable sending their kids back to school

■ 53 per cent would be comfortable visiting beaches, parks and beauty spots

■ 39 per cent would feel comfortable going back to pubs or bars with outdoor areas

■ 32 per cent would feel comfortable eating in restaurants or cafes

■ 18 per cent would feel comfortable taking flights to European holiday destinations

■ 51 per cent of people have concerns about their job

■ 66 per cent of people said readily available testing would make them feel more confident in being out in public places

Only 12% of readers said Boris Johnston’s government had handled the crisis ‘very well.