Tories slump to their lowest poll rating with Rishi as PM with Labour lead surging to 25 points at start of what could be one of Sunak's worst weeks in No10

The Tories have slumped to their lowest vote share with Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, according to a new poll.

The latest Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey showed the Conservatives on just 21 per cent support among voters, which is down three points since last week.

Labour’s lead surged to 25 points with Sir Keir Starmer’s party backed by 46 per cent of Britons, up one point.

A 12 per cent vote share for Reform UK was the 10th poll in a row in which the party founded by ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage had received more than 10 per cent.

The Tories last sunk to 21 per cent support on 23 October 2022 – the day before Mr Sunak was annnounced as Liz Truss’s replacement as PM following her disastrous spell in No10.

The latest polling blow for Mr Sunak comes at the start of what could be one of the most difficult weeks of his premiership.

The latest Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey showed the Conservatives on just 21 per cent support among voters, which is down three points since last week

The Tories last sunk to 21 per cent support on 23 October 2022 – the day before Mr Sunak was annnounced as Liz Truss’s replacement as PM following her disastrous spell in No10

The latest poll also revealed only 44 per cent who supported the party at the 2019 general election said they would vote for the Tories again

Downing Street is braced for new economic figures in the coming days to show a possible uptick in inflation, while they could also reveal the UK has slipped into recession.

This is despite the PM having made economic growth one of his five priorities.

Mr Sunak is also set to face fresh opposition to his Rwanda migration scheme in the House of Lords. And, on Thursday, the Tories are widely expected to lose by-election contests in Kingswood and Wellingborough.

The barrage of bad news for the PM could revive efforts among Tory plotters to oust Mr Sunak from No10 ahead of the general election.

The Redfield & Wilton poll showed the PM was failing to enthuse voters who previously backed the Tories.

It revealed only 44 per cent who supported the party at the 2019 general election said they would vote for the Tories again.

This was the lowest percentage recorded since Mr Sunak became PM and just six points higher than the lowest percentage (37 per cent) ever recorded on 16 October 2022.

More than one-fifth (21 per cent) of those of voted Tory in 2019 now said they would vote for Labour if a general election were held tomorrow, while 19 per cent would vote for Reform UK.

Mr Sunak received a net approval rating of -25 per cent. This was the lowest approval rating Mr Sunak has ever recorded in Redfield & Wilton’s polling as either PM or Chancellor

When asked who would make the better PM at this moment, 45 per cent said Sir Keir and less than one-third (29 per cent) said Mr Sunak

Mr Sunak received a net approval rating of -25 per cent, which was down seven points from last week.

This was the lowest approval rating Mr Sunak has ever recorded in Redfield & Wilton’s polling as either PM or Chancellor.

Just one quarter (25 per cent) of voters approved of Mr Sunak’s overall job performance against half (50 per cent) who disapproved.

Sir Keir’s net approval rating stood at 9 per cent, which was up two points from last week.

Almost two in five (39 per cent) approved of the Labour leader’s job performance, while less than one-third (30 per cent) disapproved.

When asked who would make the better PM at this moment, 45 per cent said Sir Keir and less than one-third (29 per cent) said Mr Sunak.

Sir Keir’s 16-point lead on this question was just one point less than his record lead over Mr Sunak, which was recorded on 3 September last year.

Mr Sunak today insisted the economy ‘has turned a corner’ despite the prospect that a technical recession could be announced by the end of the week.

Speaking to reporters in Harrogate, the PM acknowledged that recent years had been ‘undoubtedly difficult’ but added: ‘At the start of this year I really believe the economy has turned a corner and we are heading in the right direction.

‘You can see inflation has come down from 11 per cent to 4 per cent, mortgage rates are starting to come down, wages have been rising consistently now.’

Mr Sunak added that the cut in National Insurance at the start of the year ‘shows that the plan is working’, but declined to say whether entering a technical recession would affect the possibility of further tax cuts.

• Redfield & Wilton Strategies polled 2,000 eligible voters in Britain online on 11 February.

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