We have to go back to 1992, when the economy grew just 0.2%, to find a worse backdrop for the general election.
Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said the economy was the main issue worrying voters going into this general election for the first time since 2010, with little indication the government was receiving any thanks for the recent fall in inflation. .
“There are very few signs that this is feeding into the consumer feel-good factor right now,” he said.
“You still have six in 10 people saying the government is doing a bad job on the cost of living, and 68% saying the Conservative government is doing a bad job on the economy. This is the worst we have seen in 25 years, since we started asking the question in 1998.” ».
When asked about the best policies to deal with the cost of living, voters backed Labor by a margin of 37% to 20%, giving the opposition a 17-point lead on the Ipsos scale.
But when asked about the economy overall, the two parties were tied, with Labor on 29% and the Conservatives on 30%.
If voters choose on the basis of which party is worst in terms of their personal finances, Sunak will be in trouble.
“Half of people think they would be worse off if the Conservatives won the next election. 34% think they would be worse off if [Sir Keir] “Starmer’s Labor is winning,” Mr Skinner said.
A YouGov poll shows that almost three-quarters of voters say the government is handling the economy poorly – including more than half of those who voted Conservative in 2019.
Voters do not have much confidence in either party on economic issues, but Labor is clearly ahead.