Rishi Sunak’s popularity soars in Tory league table with ‘big jump’ before local elections
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has seen his popularity soar among the Tory grassroots, a poll has shown.
The Conservative Home website’s survey of party membership shows Sunak’s approval ratings have risen from sixth from bottom to sixth from top, in the cabinet league table.
In the end of February’s poll, the PM was at just plus 7.4 points, whereas at the beginning of April, he achieved a result of plus 43.7 points.
ConHome describes the total as “still relatively modest” but said “the jump is very big”.
It came after a month which saw him pass the Windsor Framework Brexit deal and reveal plans for the Illegal Migration Bill to address small boat crossings in the Channel.
Sunak also outlined the future of the AUKUS submarine pact – while Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his budget.
Cabinet poll
Topping the cabinet rankings in the poll is defence secretary Ben Wallace, with plus 85.1 points, followed by business secretary Kemi Badenoch on plus 63.5 points and foreign secretary James Cleverly on plus 63 points.
Home secretary Suella Braverman came in at plus 47.8 points and Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons, scored plus 46.2 points.
At the bottom of the table were environment secretary Therese Coffey, with minus 2.3 points, and development minister Andrew Mitchell, on minus two points.
Hunt, energy security secretary Grant Shapps and immigration minister Robert Jenrick also scored low, with plus 1.7 points, plus two points and plus 11.2 points respectively.
However, Sunak still faces challenging circumstances ahead of the May local elections, with polling by Omnisis for the Express finding 41 per cent of people would vote for Labour, if a general election was held now.
It puts Sir Keir Starmer’s party 19 points ahead of the Conservatives, who are on 22 percent. Local councils across England and Northern Ireland will elect new representatives on May 4.