According to Opinium, Labour’s lead has increased by five points in the past fortnight after Sir Keir’s party proposed freezing the energy price cap in response to the cost of living crisis, a policy supported by almost two-thirds of voters . Instead, the polling period coincided with Boris Johnson taking two overseas holidays and Liz Truss – the front-runner to replace him in No 10 – rejecting the idea of further “handouts” for struggling households facing huge bill rises in less from two months. It is the biggest lead Labor has enjoyed since Opinium introduced a new methodology in February and would potentially extend into double-digit territory under the poll’s previous system. The findings also add weight to those by YouGov, published in The Times on Friday, which gave Labor a dramatic 13-point lead – its biggest since 2013. In results that will make grim reading for the Tories, Opinium’s head of pollster Chris Curtis described “almost 1997 levels of change” in their survey, with 13 per cent of those who voted Tory in 2019 now saying they would vote for of Sir Keir. party. Ms Truss personally saw her fortunes take a significant turn for the worse when she faced the Labor leader, now trailing him 31-23 as voters’ favorite prime minister – despite leading him 29-28 just before a fortnight. That drop in support for the foreign secretary was echoed among Conservative voters, falling from 52 to 43 per cent in the past two weeks, as her rival Rishi Sunak’s support rose by three points to 31 per cent. However, Opinium warned that both Tory leadership candidates “appear to be falling flat with voters”, with 44 per cent saying neither would make the best prime minister, compared to just 22 percent said Mr. Sunak and 20 percent who preferred Ms. Truss. . Rishi Sunak wields ‘bazooka’ in new campaign video The findings come after veteran Tory cabinet minister Michael Gove moved to back Mr Sunak on Friday night, attacking Ms Truss for taking a “holiday from reality” on the cost of living crisis and warning that her plans tax cuts would prioritize ‘FTSE stock options. 100 executives” above the poorest of the country. At a rally in Manchester on Friday, Mr Sunak warned that refusing to intervene would be a “moral failure”, promising further immediate financial help for low-income households and the elderly. Huge numbers of the British public appear to agree, with Opinium – whose poll was conducted on Thursday and Friday – finding that 67 per cent of people believe the government should provide as much or almost as much support to those struggling as they did during the pandemic. Forty per cent of respondents said that, if Ofgem’s price cap rises to £3,500 in October as expected, they will either not be able to pay their energy bills at all or will have to forego other bills or cut back on essential spending. Adam Drummond, head of political and social research at Opinium, said: “After four weeks of putting their case to the country, the Conservatives will be incredibly concerned that their two leadership candidates appear to be at odds with voters. “Not only do 44 per cent of voters now think neither Rishi Sunak nor Liz Truss would make the best prime minister, but the cost of living crisis continues unabated with Labor starting to make an impact. “Whoever is the next prime minister, they will have to work hard to regain momentum from the opposition to deal with the economic hit households are facing this winter.”
