Theresa May has suffered a startling decline in popularity since last month’s general election with a new opinion poll showing 61% of voters now view her in a more negative light than they did when the electorate denied her an overall majority on 8 June.
The extraordinary transformation in the prime minister’s ratings, which were sky high in early April after she called the snap election, has been accompanied by a rise in public respect for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, according to a new Opinium survey for the Observer.
Corbyn’s reinvigorated party is now on 45%, six points ahead of the Tories (on 39%), which if replicated in a general election would put Corbyn in a strong position to enter Downing Street as prime minister if one was called in the near future.
On 9 April, May’s approval rating stood at an impressive +21% (where the percentage of those who disapprove of her leadership is subtracted from the number who approve) while that for Corbyn had sunk to -35%.
In an extraordinary turnaround, May’s rating is now at -20% (with 31% approving her leadership and 51% disapproving) while Corbyn’s has risen to +4% with more approving of his stewardship of Labour (42%) than disapproving (38%).
May’s struggle to form a coalition with the Democratic Unionist party and her much criticised immediate response to the Grenfell Tower disaster in west London, appear to have contributed to her post-election slump.
By contrast a newly confident Corbyn was seen as having reacted better to the tragedy and has enjoyed adulation from Labour supporters and young people, including at last weekend’s Glastonbury festival.
May and Corbyn are now neck and neck when voters are asked who they believe would make the best prime minister, with 35% saying May and 34% Corbyn.
On Brexit, 41% now disapprove of the way May is handling the negotiations on leaving the EU, against 32% who approve. Some 47% of those who backed leaving the EU approve of her handling of Brexit against 27% who disapprove, while 56% of remainers disapprove and only 21% approve.
While 43% support the way Corbyn reacted to the Grenfell Tower, 23% do not, and just 22% approve of May’s reaction, against 50% who are critical.
Robert Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester said: “This new poll suggests that the remarkable swing in political fortunes which began in the general election campaign has continued in the weeks after the vote. Theresa May’s personal ratings have collapsed further, while Jeremy Corbyn’s have surged.
“There have been a few occasions when the public have turned rapidly against a prime minister, for example Gordon Brown’s collapse in support in the autumn of 2007, when Vince Cable noted his “remarkable transformation ... from Stalin to Mr Bean.
Ford said that plunging numbers for a PM while an opposition leader surged in popularity was a rare occurrence.
“While this will further increase the pressures on Theresa May, many Conservatives will be eager to avoid another election now they are trailing Labour in the polls.
“Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn’s position in the party, in serious doubt just a few weeks ago, now looks unassailable. He is recording net positive personal ratings on a regular basis for the first time in his leadership, and Labour’s poll share of 45% is among the best the party has seen since the height of Tony Blair’s popularity.”
