Poll: PM’s credibility damaged by Cummings
THE Dominic Cummings affair has seriously affected the credibility of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister among Welsh adults, a new poll for the Western Mail has shown.
Mr Cummings, who is Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser and during the EU referendum campaign was director of the VoteLeave organisation, caused a furore when he apparently broke lockdown rules by driving to the north east of England with his wife and young child when he had symptoms of Covid-19.
A poll for the Western Mail carried out by Beaufort Research show that more than two thirds of the Welsh public (68%) believe the Cummings affair has damaged Mr Johnson’s credibility as PM, with almost half of the population overall – 45% – saying it has damaged it “a lot”.
Just 19% feel it has had no effect on his credibility, while 7% say it has increased his credibility as PM.
Older people, those in the higher earning ABC1 social classes and women were most likely to believe it has had a negative effect on his credibility.
As many as 79% of those aged 65 and over believe Mr Johnson’s credibility has been damaged by the Cummings affair, with 53% of them saying his credibility has been damaged a lot and a further 25% saying it has been damaged a little.
Such a result will be particularly worrying for Mr Johnson, whose support base has been strong among older voters.
By contrast, 57% of those aged between 16 and 24 think the PM’s credibility has been damaged – 30% a lot and 27% a little (13% of this age group could not comment).
Among the ABC1 social classes, 72% believe Mr Johnson’s credibility has been damaged – 47% a lot and 25% a little.
In the less affluent C2DE classes, 65% think his credibility has taken a knock – 43% a lot and 21% a little.
While 71% of women think the PM’s credibility has been damaged (45% by a lot, 25% by a little), the equivalent figure for men was 66% (46% a lot, 21% a little).
Those living in all regions of Wales believe that Mr Johnson’s credibility has been damaged.
In north Wales the proportion feeling that way is 69% (48% by a lot, 22% by a little); in mid and west
Wales 69% (47% by a lot, 22% by a little); in south west Wales 71% (41% by a lot, 30% by a little); in Cardiff and south east Wales 70% (46% by a lot, 25% by a little); and 64% in the Valleys (46% by a lot, 18% by a little).
Non-Welsh speakers (70% – 47% a lot, 23% a little) were more likely to believe Mr Johnson’s credibility had been hit than fluent Welsh speakers (65% – 48% a lot, 17% a little).
■ Fieldwork for the poll was undertaken online by Beaufort between June 10 and June 22. A total of 1,000 interviews were compiled and analysed.