VOTERS are being turned off the multimillionaire Tory Chancellor because he is “so utterly disconnected” from reality, it has been claimed.
New figures show Rishi Sunak – reported to be worth £200 million – has seen his approval ratings plunge as voters begin to feel the squeeze from the cost-of-living crisis he failed to tackle in his Spring Statement.
His net favourability was down 24 points since just before his mini-budget on March 23, to reach minus 29, a survey by YouGov has found.
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He has “no idea about the impact of his government's policies” on ordinary households due to his massive personal wealth, the Scottish Greens have said.
Sunak was granted permission in August last year to build a swimming pool, a gym and a tennis court in the grounds of his Grade-II listed house mansion in his Yorkshire constituency.
Prior to the cost-of-living crisis kicking in, pundits saw Sunak as a potential future Prime Minister given his popularity with Tory voters.
The poll put the Chancellor's support below that of Keir Starmer (minus 25) for the first time since the Labour leader took office.
Minus 29 is Sunak's lowest ever result and is a 24-point decrease since March 22-23, and a 14-point drop since immediately after the spring statement, the figures showed.
The poll found more than half of Britons (57%) have an unfavourable opinion of the Chancellor, compared with 28% who view him in a positive light.
And the Prime Minister has also seen a collapse in what remained of his approval ratings, which have fallen to minus 34, down 8 points from before the Spring Statement.
Greens MSP Gillian Mackay said independence would allow Scots to “get rid of cruel Tory politicians we didn't vote for inflicting hardship on our communities”.
She added: “Rishi Sunak is so utterly disconnected from the reality that faces most ordinary people that it is no wonder he is so unpopular.
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"He is the UK's wealthiest politician and it's clear that he has no idea about the impact his government's policies are having on communities across Scotland and the UK.
"In the last few months, Sunak has ripped £1000 of Universal Credit payments from vulnerable households, raised the regressive national insurance tax, and presided over sky-high inflation.”
The Government has refused to budge on scrapping the £20 per week cut to Universal Credit – despite warning the move would hit nearly six million people.
The Chancellor has also stood by allowing energy bills by a record 54% from April.
And a 1.25 percentage point increase in the rate of National Insurance contributions adds to the squeeze.
The findings were based on a survey of 2,120 British adults on April 4-5, YouGov said.
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