Tory voters abandoning party because they’re ‘just doing a bad job’, poll finds

Survey detects little enthusiasm for Labour among people who previously backed Tories

Former Conservative voters are abandoning the party because they are just "doing a bad job", a new poll has found.

People who voted Tory in 2019 but who have now switched to Labour were asked by pollster YouGov why they had ditched Rishi Sunak's party.

By far the most popular response, given by 30 per cent of 2019 voters, was simply that "the Conservatives are doing a bad job".

The second and third most popular reasons given were variations of on this theme: with 15 per cent saying there was a "need for change" and 11 per cent saying they no longer trust the Tories.

But there was little sign of enthusiasm for Keir Starmer's Labour Party in the reasons given for planning to back them at the next election.

The fourth most popular reason was that Labour "are the best of a bad bunch", given by 10 per cent, while the fifth most popular reason was: "voting Labour is the only way of getting the Conservatives out of government".

Only 1 per cent of the voters said they had made the switch because Labour was "more sensible or reliable than in the 2019 election" under Jeremy Corbyn – a key theme of Sir Keir's political project.

Eight per cent of switchers said Labour were the best alternative available while 6 per cent said the Tories had simply been in power for two long, the polling, commissioned by Times Radio, found.

Just five per cent of voters who have abandoned the Conservatives for Sir Keir's party said they were backing the opposition because Labour "are in touch with every day people" or "I agree with Labour Party policies".

Three per cent said Keir Starmer would be a better prime minister and just two per cent said it was because they thought Labour would do a better job of managing the NHS and other public services.

Labour has opened up a consistent lead against the Tories in the polls of at least 10 points and appears to be heading for a majority.

The Conservatives suffered a crushing defeat in last week's English local elections, losing swathes of councils to opposition parties across the country.

But the polls have narrowed somewhat since Mr Sunak took over, compared to the depths of unpopularity under his predecessor Liz Truss.