With eight more candidates in the running to become the next prime minister, poll data reveals the future leader of the conservative party faces a major challenge. British households are in the midst of a crippling energy crisis, with Cornwall Insight’s most recent analysis putting the Default Tariff Cap, also known as the energy price cap, for the fourth quarter of 2022 (October-December) at £3,244 per annum.
Addressing this fossil fuel crisis must be the top priority for the new administration, as a new poll has found that more voters are leaving the Tories because of skyrocketing bills than because of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s various scandals.
The study, conducted by Comres and seen by the Independent, goes against Tory MPs who believe removing the incumbent prime minister would aid the party in the next election.
The Conservative Party has lost a lot of ground to Labor over the past year, including in the so-called ‘red wall seats’, according to several national polls.
Now the Tories could lose crucial seats in the south of England to the Liberal Democrats, who recently won a string of interim victories, including in formerly safe Conservative havens.
For the study, ComRes surveyed a weighted sample of 2,208 UK adults between 8 and 10 July 2022, shortly after Mr Johnson resigned.
Of those polled, 43 percent said they were less likely to vote for the Tories than at this time last year, while a further 38 percent said they had no change in perception, and 10 percent said they were more likely to vote for the Tories. to vote. the conservatives.
Of those conservative voters who said they were less likely to support the party, the cost of living crisis was by far the biggest concern, cited by 54 percent of those polled, followed by Mr Johnson’s leadership at 35 percent, and general corruption and sleaze of the party at 34 percent.
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Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Sarah Olney described the energy crisis as “the elephant in the room” during the Tory leadership contest, telling the Independent: “That announcement will send a shiver down the spine of millions of people in the country who simply cannot energy bills over £3,000 a year.
“Yet everything we’ve heard of Conservative candidates for leadership is boasting and nonsense to court Conservative MPs.
“They have said absolutely nothing about how they plan to help people with utility bills.
“These candidates have no contact and no ideas. Frankly, this country is tired of the conservative party.
“They have no answers to the cost of living crisis and will fail to help the struggling people through a tough winter of price hikes.”