Britons turn critical of government's pandemic response, poll shows

Almost half of respondents thought the government was handling the situation poorly

Masks on, masks off: London Bridge during the morning rush hour on July 19. AP

The British public's view of the government's pandemic response has turned negative for the first time since February, a survey released on Thursday showed.

And members of the public are worried about the risk of a new wave of infections, the poll showed.

With a renewed rise in cases caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, Kantar Public said 48 per cent of people it polled thought the government was handling Covid-19 poorly, up three points from July.

And Kantar said 43 per cent thought the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson was doing well, which was down six points.

Two thirds of respondents were concerned that there would be further waves of Covid-19 infections after the summer, compared with 28 per cent who were not.

Britain has suffered one of the world's heaviest Covid-19 death tolls and it locked down its economy for longer than many other countries last year, and in early 2021.

But it has also rolled out vaccinations at a faster rate than its peers, which boosted the approval ratings of Mr Johnson and his government this year.

The Kantar poll also showed a fall this month in the share of people who expected the economy would be doing better in 12 months, down seven percentage points to 30 per cent.