UK PM Liz Truss’ poll ratings plunge, worse than Boris Johnson's final days in office

As the United Kingdom continues to face an economic crisis, a recent poll showed that newly-elected Prime Minister Liz Truss is now losing trust among the people and her party leaders. A poll by Opinium, which was released on the eve of the Tory conference, found that 71% of those who backed the Conservatives at the last general election believed Truss and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, have lost their control of the economy. Also, it revealed that Truss' rating is now lower than her predecessor Boris Johnson, who faced serious allegations of attending booze parties at the time when the country followed the strict lockdown norms.

Some Tory MPs have even demanded the removal of Truss from No 10 in less than a month of taking charge of the country. The poll also found Labour has extended its lead by a massive 14 percentage points in the last week alone, from 5 points to 19 points. Besides, several senior leaders warned that the recent measures taken in the taxation system will take ages to undo the reputation of the Conservatives. "The Truss government has thrown away the Conservative party’s reputation for sound management of the public finances in its first month in office. It will take years to undo all the damage," Tory peer Gavin Barwell, a former MP and chief of staff to Theresa May, wrote in Sunday’s Observer.

Defending her economic policies, Truss on Thursday asserted that decisive actions were necessary to drive the economy in the right direction. In her first public comments since the government’s announcement of billions in uncosted tax cuts roiled markets and drove the pound to record lows, Truss said Britain was facing “a difficult time." But she said the problems were global and spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sunak had predicted Truss would plunge the UK into an 'inflation crisis'

Earlier during the election campaign, her opponent and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, on multiple occasions, contested that Truss could not handle the economy and would plunge the country into an "inflation crisis". Alleging that Truss would increase borrowing to “historic and dangerous levels,” Sunak's advocacy group had said that "she has no concrete plan to run the economy" and added she would not be able to provide a respite to households in the upcoming winter. Notably, the country is also facing an energy crisis and the energy regulators announced to increase in the bills from £1,971 to about £3,600. 

Image: AP