WHAT would it take to put English voters off Boris Johnson?
The Prime Minister has backed plans to break international law, mishandled the coronavirus pandemic and then reportedly mocked the victims of said pandemic.
And in the latest sleaze scandal engulfing his government, the Tory chief is accused of fibbing about the funding for lavish renovations of his Downing Street flat. Having seen the pictures, it definitely wasn’t worth £58,000 – or an Electoral Commission investigation.
Perhaps Johnson remains popular among voters in other parts of the UK because he has a steadfast commitment to scrutiny.
In fact he’s so interested in proper oversight that he has appointed himself to oversee a parliamentary investigation into the flat scandal. Now that’s leadership.
Aside from the Prime Minister himself, there is someone else who should be putting him under a bit of pressure – the leader of the opposition.
Unfortunately, it seems Sir Keir Starmer hasn’t quite managed to capitalise on the most catastrophic tory government since Theresa May’s.
READ MORE: Poll: Greens to return 11 MSPs with Holyrood set for pro-independence majority
In fact, the Labour leader has somehow managed to become even less popular as his main rival does his best to erase whatever shred of credibility he had left.
A new BMG poll for the Independent, conducted over the past week, put the Tories on 39%, four ahead of Labour on 35%. It means the Conservative lead has risen by two points since the last BMG poll in March, despite weeks of headlines about Downing Street scandals.
And it gets worse for Labour … When asked to name their preferred prime minister, Johnson was named by 40% of respondents (+5), while Starmer was chosen by just 24% (-4). It means the Labour chief is a whopping 16 points back on the scandal-ridden, gaffe-prone Conservative Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, the research showed the SNP are on track to trounce both parties in the Holyrood election, with 46% of voters backing them in the poll, versus 21% for Tories and 19% for Labour.
With no end in sight to Tory rule at Westminster, it’s yet another illustration of why Scotland needs to go its seperate way.
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