Boris Johnson issues warning against ‘another wave’

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The latest Ipsos Mori poll put the Tories on 40 percent of the vote – down from 45 percent in March. The gap to the Labour Party has narrowed to just three points with the opposition on 37 percent – down one point from last month.

The Liberal Democrats are on eight points, up from six, and the Green Party remains unchanged on five percent of the vote.

The results of the survey comes just over a week before the crucial Hartlepool by-election, local and Scottish Parliament elections on May 6.

Number 10 has been embroiled in controversy in recent weeks, with former Tory Prime Minister David Cameron accused of using his links to the Treasury to lobby on behalf of the now-defunct finance firm Greensill Capital.

Mr Cameron admitted he should have contacted the Government “through only the most formal of channels”, but denied breaking any codes of conduct.

The poll was conducted from April 16-22 – before more damning claims from the Prime Minister’s former adviser, Dominic Cummings came to light.

Last week, Mr Cummings came out fighting after he was accused by Number 10 of a series of damaging leaks, including text message exchanges between the Prime Minister and the entrepreneur Sir James Dyson, reportedly involving ventilators and taxes.

In a rare blog post, Mr Cummings went on the offensive and questioned the Prime Minister’s “competence and integrity”.

He also claimed Mr Johnson wanted Tory donors to pay for renovations of his Number 11 flat, something Mr Cummings claimed would have been “unethical, foolish, and possibly illegal”.

The Government has previously said Mr Johnson paid for the refurbishment – reported to have cost £200,000 – out of his own pocket.

Speaking in Wrexham this afternoon, Mr Johnson said declarations would be made in “due course”.

The Prime Minister has also been accused of saying he would rather see “bodies pile high in their thousands” rather than order a third national lockdown.

The alleged remarks reportedly took place last October, shortly after Mr Johnson agreed to implement a second lockdown in England.

Mr Johnson has denied making the comments.

When asked by reporters whether he made the remarks, Mr Johnson said: “No, but I think the important thing I think people want us to get on and do as a Government is to make sure that the lockdowns work.”

Mr Starmer has said it is time for “a full and transparent investigation into everything that’s going on” in Number 10.

Speaking on a visit to the West Midlands, he said: “Day after day there are new allegations of sleaze, of favours, of privileged access.”

The Government has been given some reprieve after the poll results suggested Britons backed the current coronavirus strategy.

A huge 86 percent thought the Government was going a good job with the coronavirus vaccine rollout.

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And two thirds of people think the Prime Minister is relaxing coronavirus restrictions at the right pace.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said Tory voters were “less enthusiastic” about the party this month, but insisted there is “little sign” of a shift towards Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.

He said: “Conservative supporters are feeling slightly less enthusiastic this month, which is feeding through into vote share, although there is little sign of much switching to Labour.

“At the same time, some of the underlying numbers remain more positive for the Government, with economic optimism increasing once again, and very strong ratings for the vaccination programme across the board, which means we need to wait to see whether this is just a short term effect.

“But this data suggests that the upcoming elections will be an important test for both parties.”

Ipsos MORI interviewed 1,090 UK adults by telephone from April 16 to 22.
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