SUPPORT for the Tories has nosedived in the wake of the Dominic Cummings scandal, according to a new poll.
The party has seen the biggest dip in their poll ratings for a decade after Boris Johnson refused to sack his chief aide after driving to Durham from London during lockdown.
A YouGov survey for The Times today found that support for the Tories is down by four points to 44%, while Labour climbed five points to reach 38%.
The last Conservative leader to see their poll advantage fall so dramatically was David Cameron, who lost ground to the Liberal Democrats in the run-up to the 2010 election.
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The findings capped a grim 24 hours for the UK Government, which saw the resignation of Scotland Office minister Douglas Ross over the row, as well as a demand for Cummings to “consider his position” from the leader of the Scottish Conservatives and a revolt by MPs and MSPs.
The findings will cause fresh alarm in Downing Street as they desperately try to move on from the controversy.
But there is little prospect of respite, as Johnson faces a grilling from senior MPs on the issue this afternoon.
A separate poll provided more worries for Johnson, with a majority of Conservative supporters saying Cummings should be fired for breaking coronavirus rules.
A poll from JL Partners for the Daily Mail revealed that 66% of people think Cummings should leave his post amid the row, including 55% of all Conservative voters.
A further 63% believe Johnson should sack his right hand man, including 53% of Tory supporters.
Perhaps even more damning is the statistic that 80% of people and almost three quarters of Conservative supporters agree Cummings broke the rules he played a key role in drawing up.
In further bleak news for the Prime Minister, the research suggests that former Labour voters in the 'Red Wall' in the North and Midlands have reacted particularly badly to the row.
At 72% , working class 'C1/C2' voters are more likely to think the Government is behaving as though "it is one rule for them and another rule for everyone else", while 69% are more likely to say Cummings is not telling the truth than voters overall.
The new survey comes after Johnson's personal approval rating plummeted from 19% to minus one per cent in days.
Scotland Office minister Douglas Ross quit the Government yesterday, saying he could not "in good faith" defend Cummings' actions.
Tory grandee Sir Roger Gale said the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee should make it clear to the PM his adviser should go.
"The time I think has come for Mr Cummings to resign or for the PM to dispense of his services," the North Thanet MP said.
"There are people on the 1922 executive who are courageous, and that's their job.
"They are elected to tell the PM what he needs to hear, not what he wants to hear."
SNP Westminster deputy leader Kirsty Blackman said: "The clear message from the public is that Boris Johnson must sack Dominic Cummings.
"There cannot be one rule for the Tory government and another for everyone else. The Prime Minister must put his responsibilities to public health first and remove his rule-breaking Tory advisor without further delay.
"It is deeply concerning that two-thirds think this scandal will make it less likely that people will follow the lockdown rules. This matches the warnings from public health experts that Boris Johnson is fatally undermining trust in the UK government and its health guidelines.
"This is no longer just a question of the Prime Minister's judgement - but his responsibility to protect lives. If trust is eroded and people break the rules - lives will be at risk.
"The longer Boris Johnson takes to act the more damage will be done to public health and trust in his government at this crucial time. That is not a price worth paying."
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