Rishi Sunak’s delay on petrol car ban gives him eight point surge in polls
RISHI Sunak’s decision to stall the ban on selling new petrol cars has seen him catch up eight points in the polls.
That cut the Labour lead to 16 percentage points — down from 24 just ten days earlier.
While still a hefty gap, worried Tories were last night taking comfort in the speed and scale of the PM’s comeback.
Survey firm also found Deltapoll Labour fell three points to 44, with the Conservatives up five to 28.
They questioned voters through last weekend, in the immediate days after Mr Sunak pushed back the Net Zero car deadline from 2030 to 2035.
A separate poll by Redfield and Wilton showed Labour’s lead down to 15 points from 18 a week ago.
Mr Sunak — who yesterday visited a breakfast club at a community centre in Wormley, Herts — also saw his personal approval rating increase by seven points to -14.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer remained ahead on +9.
But experts said he was on the back foot after he suggested he would be happy to join Europe-wide asylum sharing.
He also told a conference he did not want to “diverge from the EU” — defeating the point of Brexit.
Last night Tory MP Craig Mackinlay pointed to the “marked narrowing on the back of more realistic commitments on Net Zero”.
He added: “Sir Keir’s confused policies are not going down well.”
Former minister Brendan Clarke-Smith said the Net Zero climbdown went down “incredibly well”, adding: “Keir Starmer has already demonstrated that he can’t withstand scrutiny with his flip flopping.”
And Conservative vice chairman Lee Anderson said: “It comes as no surprise that the are narrowing after we are announced policies that appeal to the British public.
“For those in any doubt Starmer will legalise illegal immigration and drag us back into the EU in all but name.”