Popularity of UK ruling party slumps after lockdown controversy

Newspaper poll shows that a majority believed an adviser to Boris Johnson broke the rules

Controversy over a lockdown trip by Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings has hit the party’s popularity. AFP

Support for the ruling party of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has slumped following days of controversy over a 420-kilometre journey made by his chief adviser while the country was in lockdown.

A poll for The Observer newspaper suggested that the party's lead over the opposition Labour party had fallen by eight points in a week, the largest drop since 2017.

Mr Johnson’s party had a 26-point lead two months ago, but a combination of criticism of the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis and a resurgence of the left-wing Labour party under a new leader have cut the lead to only four points, the newspaper said.

The political agenda has been dominated by the controversy over the trip from London to Durham made by Dominic Cummings, his wife and young son during the early days of the lockdown.

His refusal to apologise and Mr Johnson’s steadfast support for the adviser has been seized on by his political opponents, and some of his own MPs, to question his judgement.

The premier’s position is safe after securing a hefty 80-seat majority in national elections in December last year. He does not have to return to the polls until 2024.

But the poll by Opinium said that four out of five people questioned thought Mr Cummings had broken the rules. More than two-thirds of people thought he should resign or be fired.

The poll comes at the start of another potentially difficult week for the UK government as it prepares to ease lockdown measures.

From Monday, groups of up to six people will be allowed to meet and many schools will reopen. Daily deaths have slowed in the UK, which has recorded more than 38,000 from the pandemic, the second-highest number in the world behind the United States.