Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

More Tories unhappy with Duncan Smith

James Lyons
Wednesday 30 October 2002 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Conservative voters are increasingly unhappy with Iain Duncan Smith's leadership, according to an opinion poll released last night.

The results were published amid speculation that Mr Duncan Smith may be about to face a leadership challenge. It will fuel interest in how he performs in Prime Minister's Questions later today.

Mr Duncan Smith's approval rating among the public as a whole has slipped to its lowest point since he was elected a year ago, Mori found. He received a minus 7 approval rating from Tory supporters, according to the Political Monitor for October.

Just 32 per cent said they were satisfied by his leadership, compared with 39 per cent who weren't. Those figures drop to just 18 per cent and 44 per cent among the public as a whole. More than a third, 38 per cent, of those asked said they had no opinion on how he was performing.

There was fresh speculation that he may face a contest, with claims that senior Tories believe a majority of MPs now regard him as a liability.His opponents are believed to have taken soundings on whether they could secure the necessary 25 names – 15 per cent of the parliamentary party – on a letter asking for a vote of confidence. However many MPs, although harbouring doubts, would not want to plunge the Tories into a seventh leadership election in less than 15 years.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in