Liz Truss less popular than ANY modern PM has been after a month in power as approval rating hits -51 making her less popular than Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron EVER were
Liz Truss is less popular with the public than any of her immediate Tory predecessors ever were, new figures reveal today.
The Prime Minister has an approval rating of -51, the lowest of any modern premier at this stage of their term in office.
Two thirds (67 per cent) of Brits told Ipsos they were dissatisfied with her performance, up 38 points in a month. And just 16 per cent were satisfied, a fall of 11 points as the public discover more about her.
Her net score is worse than the lowest scores ever achieved by Boris Johnson (-46), Theresa May (-44), David Cameron (-38) and Tony Blair (-44).
It equals Gordon Brown’s unpopularity in July 2008 during the financial crisis (-51), whilst John Major (-59) and Margaret Thatcher (-56) both slipped lower during their own economic crises in the 1980s and 1990s.
However, no PM has reached this low so quickly in their tenure.
Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said: ‘While at first the public was reserving judgement, the danger for both of them is that in only their second month those early impressions have rapidly become much more negative.
‘Even in our long-term trends going back over the decades there are few Prime Ministers (and no chancellors) with worse scores, and none that have deteriorated so quickly.
‘Underpinning this is the poor reaction to their economic policies, which many think will leave them worse off during high levels of concern about the cost of living, and for which the Government is being held increasingly responsible – and from which Labour is benefiting.
Ms Truss executed another humiliating U-turn on her flagship tax cuts today after 24 hours of extraordinary drama that saw her sack Kwasi Kwarteng and bring back Jeremy Hunt to quell market chaos.
Barely a month into her premiership, Ms Truss fronted a make-or-break press conference to abandon plans to keep corporation tax at 19p, rather than hiking it to 25p in April.
She said she had made a ‘difficult’ decision for ‘economic security’ and ‘in the national interest’, but argued that her ‘mission’ to reduce taxes remained. ‘We will get through this storm,’ she said. ‘The mission remains the same.. but ultimately we have to make sure we have economic stability.’
Under fierce fire from journalists, Ms Truss refused to apologise for ‘trashing’ the Tories’ reputation – before abruptly walking out after eight minutes and just four question.
Downing Street will now be waiting anxiously to see if the PM has done enough to cling on, after Tory MPs warned that a poor performance would mean she is ‘out’.
Looking uncomfortable, Ms Truss took to the podium inside No9 Downing Street to make a statement confirming the corporation tax rethink.
Asked why she should remain as PM, she said: ‘I’m absolutely determined to see through what I have promised, to deliver a higher growth, more prosperous United Kingdom, to see us through the storm we face.
‘We’ve already delivered the energy price guarantee making sure people aren’t facing huge bills this winter.
‘But it was right in the face of the issues that we had that I acted decisively to ensure that we have economic stability, because that is vitally important to people and businesses right across our country.’
Challenged on whether she would apologise to her party, Ms Truss told reporters: ‘I am determined to deliver on what I set out when I campaigned to be party leader.
‘We need to have a high-growth economy but we have to recognise that we are facing very difficult issues as a country.
‘And it was right, in the national interest, that I made the decisions I’ve made today to restore that economic stability so we can deliver, first of all helping people through this winter and next winter with their energy bills, but also making sure that our country is on the long-term footing for sustainable economic growth.’
Mr Kwarteng was given his marching orders after being hauled back to Downing Street from a US summit, with the PM facing a potentially terminal Tory rebellion.
Former foreign secretary and two-time failed leadership contender Mr Hunt is making a shock return as a ‘safe pair of hands’ to take over No11.
In a letter, Mr Kwarteng confirmed he had been ‘asked to stand aside’ rather than quitting – and suggested he still believes that the tax-cuts should go ahead. After being fired, the MP left No10 by the front door, smiling and waving to waiting media.
Ms Truss replied by praising their ‘friendship’ and ‘shared vision’, saying he had put the ‘national interest first’ by falling on his sword. Despite Mr Kwarteng leaving no doubt that he had been given the bullet, she said: ‘I deeply respect the decision you have taken today.’
One bewildered Cabinet source told MailOnline of the prospect of Mr Hunt taking over at No11: ‘I think my rationality barometer is broken.’
Chris Philp has also been ousted from Treasury Chief Secretary, after a series of gaffes including tweeting that the Pound was strengthening during Mr Kwarteng’s mini-Budget speech – minutes before it crashed. He is swapping jobs with Paymaster General Edward Argar.
The chaos saw the Pound shedding the gains it had made yesterday when the markets moved on the growing likelihood of a big shift on the unfunded tax cuts.
Mutinous Conservative MPs have been touting Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt as a ‘dream ticket’ to take over from Ms Truss.
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