UK: Labour leader more popular than Prime Minister May 0

A new poll shows that British Prime Minister Theresa May’s approval rating has hit a record low, with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn overtaking her for the first time. According to the survey compiled by Ipsos MORI for the London Evening Standard newspaper, only 34 percent of respondents said they approve of May’s leadership, while 59 percent expressed their disapproval with her minority government.

This is the lowest approval rating ever recorded for any modern-day prime minister immediately after an election. The poll also revealed that 44 percent of adults are satisfied with Labour leader Corbyn, only one percentage point less than those who are dissatisfied. Over one thousand adults across the UK participated in the poll.

“The turnaround in Mrs. May’s ratings is unprecedented in our previous data on prime ministers – from a historic high at the start of the campaign to a historic low just one month after an election, while also seeing her position among her own party supporters weakening and Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign surge continuing,” said Head of political research at Ipsos MORI Gideon Skinner.

“Having said that, she still has the edge as most capable PM among over 35s,” Skinner added. May’s rating has plummeted over a number of her policies, including social care and school funding. May’s Conservatives were enjoying a record surge in April in the polls when she opportunistically called for a snap election in hopes of getting an increased majority that could have strengthened her position before going into two years of intense negotiations with the European Union about Britain’s departure from the bloc.

However, May’s election gamble spectacularly backfired. British on June 8 voters dealt her a devastating blow, wiping out her parliamentary majority and throwing the country into political turmoil. Corbyn’s Labour, meanwhile, picked up dozens of seats. According to another poll released earlier this month, the Labour Party took an eight-point lead over the Conservative Party. The YouGov poll put Labour on 46 percent and the Conservatives on 38 percent.

Source: Presstv