Fresh polling from Ipsos paints a grim picture of public sentiment in the wake of Rachel Reeves’ spring statement. Out of 1,028 adults surveyed between the 26 – 27 March, only 19% of voters believe she’s doing a good job as Chancellor, with a hefty 51% rating her performance negatively – a jump of seven percentage points since just before the statement. That leaves her with a dismal net approval rating of -32, just five points above the lows of ex-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng post-mini budget. And 7 points below the lows of former chancellors Sunak and Hunt…
As for the economy, the majority of Brits – 57% – feel more concerned than reassured by Reeves’ so-called ’emergency budget.’ While half back extra spending on affordable housing, training construction workers, and an additional £2.2 billion for defence, the public is divided on welfare cuts: 36% support them, while 35% are opposed. Meanwhile, 37% believe taxes are too high, 35% feel cuts have gone too far, and just 14% think the balance is right….
While Labour continues to blame the Tories and Liz Truss for ‘crashing the economy’, Reeves is turning out to be just as unpopular. Labour will soon need to come up with a new excuse. A job for new comms strategy director James Lyons…
Former Treasury minister and adviser to Burnham in the Makerfield campaign Lord Jim O’Neill, who has turned down a role in his government, said Burnham’s first statement Commons was:
“The last thing investors wanted to hear… gilt yields have risen by a 0.25% in one day, which is a lot. We’ve not had that since Liz Truss days… If your country is under the focus of ‘can they come up with a sensible fiscal strategy’ on a day when the markets think ‘well no, you’re not showing any sign of it’ you’re going to have a tough day…if it stays like this your mortgage rate is going up.”
