THE Conservative party gives off the impression of being very sleazy and disreputable - that's what the majority of UK voters think.

A YouGov survey asked 1696 people across Britain what they thought about allegations of sleaze and second jobs scandal currently hovering over Westminster.

It found that 60% of people surveyed agreed the Tories give off a sleazy and disreputable impression while less than a fifth (18%) disagreed and 22% of people said they don't know.

It also found that a third (33%) of people who intend to vote for the Tories also agree with the statement.

Amongst Scottish voters, the figure rose to 68% with just 10% disagreeing.

READ MORE: Jacob Rees-Mogg to be told to quit government role over Owen Paterson scandal

Voters were less sure when asked the same statement about the Labour Party, with a third (33%) agreeing and some 36% disagreeing with 31% not returning an opinion either way.

However, they were resounding in their opinion of how Boris Johnson has handled the allegations as Prime Minister with two thirds (66%) believing he has done badly.

The big takeaways from the Tory sleaze poll 

  • 60% of voters think Tories give off the impression of being "very sleazy and disreputable"
  • 33% of Conservatives voters agree with the statement while this figure rises to 46% of those who voted for the party in 2019, indicating that many who put the party into government are distrustful of it now
  • Scotland agrees with the statement the most of all British areas surveyed, with 68% saying the party is sleazy
  • 66% of people in Britain think Boris Johnson has handled corruption allegations badly
  • 50% think that the MP salary of £81,932 is too much while just 7% think it is too little

EXPLAINED: A guide to this week's endless Tory sleaze allegations

The Tory government has been mired in accusations of corruption and sleaze over the past few weeks that was sparked by Owen Paterson's suspension from the Commons which the Government attempted to reverse and was then forced into an embarrassing U-turn.

Paterson (below) was given a six-week suspension after he had been found to have broken Westminster's lobbying rules by advocating on behalf of two companies that paid him tens of thousands on top of his salary.

The National: Owen Paterson

The affair highlighted MPs having second jobs which has caused headaches across Westminster for the past few weeks due to Geoffrey Cox's legal work for the British Virgin Islands causing scrutiny in the work that politicians do in addition to their high-paying jobs as elected officials.

MPs are paid an annual salary of £81,932 and 50% of those polled believe this is too much while just 7% said it was not enough and a third (34%) thought it was "about right".

Just 18% of voters believe the salary should be raised with 62% opposing an increase.

READ MORE: David Pratt: Tory sleaze has paid off for them, it must pay off for independence

The view was mixed on whether MPs should be allowed to take second jobs with 40% saying they should not be allowed, 39% saying they should be permitted in "limited circumstances" and 9% saying they should be allowed without restriction.

In terms of the public's view of corruption, the prevailing feeling was that Johnson and the current government are "no more or less corrupt" than previous PMs and governments (44 and 46% respectively). The feeling was similar when thinking about Tory MPs as opposed to those of other parties.

Some 39% of those polled believe Johnson and his government are more corrupt than those in the past, while six and four per cent respectively believe they are less corrupt.