48% OF TORIES WANT A GENERAL ELECTION
Former Conservative voters join the queue to ditch woeful Rishi
NEARLY half those who voted Tory in 2019 want a General Election this year – which would sweep the Conservatives from power.
A poll for the Sunday Mirror also shows four in ten voters want Labour leader Keir Starmer as PM with fewer than a third opting for Rishi Sunak.
Our survey is terrible news for the Tories with 48% who declared themselves Conservative voters last time either strongly supporting or supporting going to the ballot box in 2023. That rises to 61% of all voters.
And four in ten onetime Tories say the sooner the better joining 52% of voters overall who favour an election in the next six weeks. The Redfield and Wilton Strategies survey shows just 27% would like Boris Johnson to replace Mr Sunak.
As other polls consistently show the Tories lagging more than 20 points behind Mr Starmer would be a shoo-in for No10 if a vote was held now.
And Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves is four points ahead of Tory Jeremy Hunt to run the economy.
Nearly half said Mr Sunak has failed to uphold his pledge of “integrity, professionalism and accountability” after his sacking of Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi last week. And that included more than one in three Tories.
But six in ten back the PM’s plan to introduce minimum service levels to thwart strikes, although 47% say workers who will not cross picket lines should not be sacked. Only 29% reckon they should. Four in ten oppose tax rises to fund the NHS while more than three in five are against those who can afford it paying to see a GP.
But the nation is divided on Prince Harry and Meghan attending the King’s coronation in May with 44% saying come and 41% saying stay away. Polling guru Sir John Curtice told GBNews: “The dice are loaded against Rishi Sunak remaining PM after the election. We have very high levels of spending, but public services are not working.”
Redfield and Wilton Strategies questioned 1,500 voters online on February 1.