Sunak’s popularity slumps among Tory grassroots, survey finds
Rishi Sunak is seen as one of the worst performing Cabinet ministers by Tory members, according to a survey of the party grassroots.
The survey, by website Conservativehome, gives the Prime Minister a net satisfaction rating of +9.0 placing him in the bottom six of the website's Cabinet performance league table and signalling that any honeymoon period for the new leader looks to be over.
The rating is a drop from his previous position at fifth in the table in the regular survey of Conservative members, which saw him enjoying a rating of +49.9.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, long a favourite of party members, tops the list with an approval rating of +83.2 followed by International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch at +63.4.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who has been fronting most of the government's response to the asylum seeker Channel crossings and overcrowding at the Manston migrant processing centre, came in at the bottom of the list with a -25.4 approval rating.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is at -9.9.
According to the Conservativehome website, the average score in the league table is a 21.7, a record low.
Conservativehome editor Paul Goodman said it came after similarly low ratings for Liz Truss's Cabinet, while Boris Johnson's administration also received poor ratings in its final days.
"The panel has clearly felt that the government, in its various manifestations, has not been performing well for some time," Mr Goodman wrote on the website.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak has slammed the "unacceptable deterioration" in northern England's rail services, ahead of yesterday’s meeting between mayors from the region and Transport Secretary Mark Harper aimed at ending the "chaos".
The Prime Minister criticised Avanti West Coast as he faced pressure over its service from his own benches in the Commons.
Tory former minister Esther Mcvey said the journey time from Wilmslow in her constituency to London had doubled, adding: "You'd be very lucky if you got a direct train."