UK: Public opinion on coronavirus – 30th July
Conservative lead drops to 3 points
The Conservatives have lost one point while Labour have remained stable on 38%, taking the overall Tory lead from 4 points to 3. The Lib Dems and Greens remain unchanged on last week.
Despite a slight improvement in the government’s ratings after the summer statement, approval of the government’s handling of the Coronavirus crisis has fallen back considerably again. Now only 30% approve of their handling of the crisis, while almost half (48%) disapprove.
Public more divided on easing of lockdown
Up until last week the public were very slowly coming to terms with the pace of ending the lockdown, with a third (32%) believing the pace of easing of restrictions was about right – the highest we’ve recorded. However, the events of the past week seem to have divided the public: the proportion believing we’re coming out of lockdown too slowly (now 11%) and believing we’re coming out too quickly (51%) both increased by 3 points in the past week.
Ultimately, it still suggests that most consumers are not yet ready to start consuming as usual. However, there have been small improvements week on week in the number who either have gone to restaurants or who plan to soon (now 33%, up from 27% a fortnight ago). It is a similar pattern for pubs and public transport.
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You can find the full data tables here.