Saturday, October 01, 2022

Voters Abandon Tories as Faith in Economic Competence Dives

THE OBSERVER: Conservative MPs urge Liz Truss’s removal from No 10 after poll reveals British public’s fury over tax plans

Liz Truss on Saturday: she showed no sign of backing down over £45bn in unfunded tax cuts.Photograph: Alberto Pezzali/AP

Three-quarters of UK voters, including a staggering 71% of those who backed the Conservatives at the last general election, believe the prime minister, Liz Truss, and the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, have “lost control” of the economy, according to a devastating poll for the Observer on the eve of the Tory conference.

The survey by Opinium – which also reveals that Labour has extended its lead by a massive 14 percentage points in the last week alone, from 5 points to 19 points, and that Truss’s ratings are now lower than Boris Johnson’s at the height of the Partygate scandal – comes as some Tory MPs are beginning to demand the new prime minister’s removal from No 10 after less than a month in office.
Other senior party figures are warning that the damage to the party’s reputation for economic management resulting from Kwarteng’s tax-cutting budget, is so serious that it will take many years to repair. » | Toby Helm & Michael Savage | Saturday, October 1, 2022