Sunak continues to defy gravity in YouGov’s favourability ratings
YouGov have just updated their favourability trackers and as can be seen the Chancellor continues to ride supreme although still a long way down from his net plus 49% just at the start of lockdown. He, of course, has been making many of the key lockdown announcements on things like the hugely expensive furlough scheme and, of course, the changes on VAT and last month the cheap meals offer.
It is the way he is seen, as portrayed in these and other ratings, that have made him the very clear favourite to be next Tory leader.
Yet it cannot go on like this. Coming in the next couple of months will be his Autumn statement when we are going to hear of his measures to start paying for some of the huge costs of the pandemic. Government debt is now talked of in trillions rather than millions and we all know that a period of tightened belts is on the way.
Apart from the measures a lot, for his personal ambitions, depends on how he presents the huge range of tax increases that are expected. Can he do that in such a manner that voters still regard him as competent? This will be a big test.
On Betfair Sunak is currently rated as a 24% chance to be next CON leader with Michael Gove as second favourite at a 10% chance.
Gove’s problem is that he continues to have the most negative YouGov ratings of any cabinet minister (net minus 41%) and that includes Gavin Williamson (net minus 38%)