SCOTS are the least likely in Britain to think Rishi Sunak will succeed in Number 10 – with a grand total of zero agreeing he will be a “great” Prime Minister, according to a new poll.
Overall, 25% of people across England, Scotland and Wales said they thought he will be a great or good leader of the country in the future, according to research by YouGov.
However, more think he will a poor or terrible Prime Minister, with a total of 29%.
READ MORE: New standards commissioner gives damning verdict on Westminster's reputation
In Scotland, the figures show even less confidence in his abilities, with 15% saying he will be a good leader – and zero predicting he will be “great”.
More than a third of people – 35% – north of the Border think he will be a poor or terrible Prime Minister.
Just under a third of those quizzed both across Britain and in Scotland alone also predicted he would be an average leader, at 31% and 32% respectively.
In his first big interview since becoming Prime Minister, Sunak yesterday admitted trust in the Conservative Party had been damaged by the chaos of Liz Truss’s short-lived premiership and disastrous mini-Budget.
He told The Times: “I completely acknowledge that trust has been damaged over the past few weeks and months. I realise that trust is not given, trust is earned. My job is to regain people’s trust.
“The only thing that people will take away from the summer – hopefully from my track record as chancellor – I’m someone they can trust understands the economy.
“I’m someone they can have confidence in, who will manage us through what will be a difficult economic time. I’ve got a track record in doing it.”
But the YouGov poll of around 1600 people across Britain, which was carried out as Sunak took the keys to Number 10 at the end of October, suggests that could be a difficult task.
The poll found 41% of Scots don’t trust him on managing the economy and 56% don’t trust him on tackling the rise in the cost of living, compared to 37% and 24% who do have trust on these issues.
In the interview, Sunak refused to give any specific details of what could be included in the Autumn Budget, but gave some indication of his approach, including repeatedly refusing to rule out a return to austerity and warning that “no government can fix every problem”.
The YouGov poll also found 53% of Scots do not trust Sunak on managing the issue of immigration, compared to 20% who think he will make the right decisions.
Sunak defended Home Secretary Suella Braverman after she sparked a huge backlash by using the term of an “invasion” of asylum seekers.
“What Suella was doing was conveying a sense of the scale of the challenge we face, which is serious and unprecedented,” he told The Times.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel