Over one-third of Conservatives surveyed also want the prime minister to quit
More than half of Britons want Prime Minister Liz Truss to resign, a new poll published on Friday by YouGov shows. According to the survey, 51% of almost 5,000 respondents want her to quit, while only about a quarter of those polled believe she should stay. Just under a quarter said they did not have any particular opinion on the matter.
The news comes as Truss and Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng face a backlash over a new spending plan designed to spur economic growth and help alleviate the effects of soaring energy prices in the short term. The plan, which involve a large package of unfunded tax cuts, sent sterling plummeting to record lows against the US dollar on Monday.
The UK’s bond market also experienced the largest one-day sell-off in its history. Deutsche Bank estimated that the plan would push the UK’s debt-to-GDP ratio to around 101%, which would be the highest national debt level since 1962.
On Wednesday, Truss’ government faced criticism from billionaire investor and founder of Bridgewater Associates Ray Dalio, who argued that a rapid debt increase amid a lack of demand for the British pound globally would lead to disaster.
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The recent developments have also seen the Tories’ popularity take a severe hit. According to another YouGov poll published on Thursday, the Labour Party has surged to a 33-point lead over the Conservatives. If elections were held today, the latter would garner just 21% of the vote, whereas more than half of Britons would vote Labour.
Kwarteng appears to be even less popular than Truss, with 54% of Brits polled wanting him to resign, according to YouGov. Only 19% of respondents said they would like the chancellor to remain in his role.
The poll results come as Truss is heading into the Conservative Party’s annual conference scheduled for this Sunday. The prime minister, who has been in office for less than a month, enjoys the support of just around 43% of Conservative voters, while more than a third of her party backers (36%) also want her to quit, the YouGov poll shows.