‘Abrasive’ Truss turns off floating voters who backed Tories at last general election, YouGov focus group says
On Thursday, the day after the end of the conference season, YouGov hosted a focus group with seven Blue Wall voters from around the South East exclusively for Sky News.
Some natural Conservatives, some former Tony Blair supporters, all with one thing in common: each voted Tory in the 2019 general election. Now their votes are up for grabs.
Here’s what our floating voter focus group found:
None said they were certain to vote Tory at the next election
Of the seven strong group, all of whom voted for Boris Johnson, none were prepared to say they would definitely vote Tory next time. Just one participant of the focus group confirmed they were more likely than not to back Liz Truss’s party next time around – suggesting plenty of doubts are harboured by the rest.
Several in the group were not wildly enthusiastic about the alternative – a Labour government – but felt it was now the default for the country given a profound concern at the existing team in power.
Stephanie, a solicitor, declared: “Do I think she (Truss) can do it? No. I don’t think she has the skills, the experience or the team behind her, and they’re all fighting against themselves.”
The group didn’t appear to think a month ago they would dislike Liz Truss – with Phyllis, an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, saying she started out believing the new PM would be better than Boris Johnson. But the decisions Truss has made in her first four weeks in power have left a profound impact on these voters.
Voters worry the Truss plans are dangerous
The focus group demonstrated just how closely voters had been paying attention to the succession of announcements by the new government, and have taken fright at the change of direction by Truss.
“In order for her plans to take place, it requires an enormous amount of borrowing and that’s putting up interest rates,” said Jane, a hospital inspector. “So, we’re potentially bankrupting the country. What Liz Truss is proposing is very reckless. I don’t think this is the time we should be experimental.”
Phyllis, a cashier, said that Truss was “going in too hard” with her plans without being in touch. Others worried what it would mean in practice.
David, who is retired, said that “you can’t just say growth, growth, growth. What’s the plan behind that?” Only one member of the group, Patrick, was positive and suggested he admired her bravery.
Voters do not warm to Truss’s personality
Just one of the seven members of our focus group at the end of the session voted to say they trust Liz Truss. Even that one backer, Patrick, volunteered that he felt she had less energy, was more like a “schoolteacher” and the “delivery wasn’t there” but liked the core Conservative messages she espouses.
The group did not see her as a unifying figure. Paul, a former local government officer, said she was “very abrasive” in her conference speech. He highlighted her childhood going on CND marches, saying she’s “taking it out” now on the Greenpeace protesters who interrupted the speech.
Jane, a mother of twins, suggested her attack on the “anti-growth coalition” was actually divisive. “I find her a very uncomfortable (watch),” while Jasmine who worked in the financial services industry suggested Truss is at her most passionate when she is attacking others.
These southern swing voters are edging cautiously towards Labour
Three of the seven said they were likely to vote Labour at the next election. Two further members of the group had not made up their mind. For a party which has in recent times struggled to get disaffected Tory voters to consider Labour, this is a good result.
Keir Starmer was described as the “lesser of two evils” by one member of the focus group, most of whom felt the Labour leader currently has the political edge.
David, who worked as an auditor, said that it is now “inevitable” there will be a Labour government – a sense of inevitability is often politically advantageous for a political party. There was not unalloyed enthusiasm, however.
Keir Starmer remains damaged by the Corbyn years and fears of a lurch to the left
These southern Blue Wall voters were still worried by what they saw as the stain of the Corbyn years. Jane said she voted for Boris Johnson in 2019 because of Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism.
Patrick, who works in the rail industry, highlighted how many of the shadow cabinet served under Jeremy Corbyn.
David said that while Keir Starmer knows he needs to have centrist policies to be electable, “I’m very worried that because of the makeup of the Labour Parliamentary Party, he’ll be under huge pressure to move to the left in government”.
There were concerns for many in the group that a Labour government could mean more strikes: just one, Paul, who worked in local government, said that inflation could mean in some cases they were justified.
Many in Westminster may see Starmer as having cut ties with much of the Corbyn era – the public are not so clear about the difference.
Voters aren’t yet convinced Keir Starmer is strong enough
The Labour leader was seen as honest, decent and a good salesman by most members of the group. But there remains a lingering concern over whether he is tough enough to take on his party if they demand he lurch to the left in power.
Some in the group queried his lack of policy specifics. David said the party is “just very polarised: you’ve got the extreme left and then you’ve got the middle and then Keir Starmer who will say anything.”
Jane said that his difficulty “is a divided party and he struggles to convey his personal convictions.”
Stephanie also felt Starmer is more centrist than a leftwinger “but Labour is funded by the unions so he may have to support them”. Voters were “between a rock and a hard place,” she added.
Voters remain incandescent with Boris Johnson. There’s no hope of a comeback
Thatcher fan Stephanie said she was embarrassed and ashamed by the Conservative party.
David said that having voted Conservative, the more he saw of Boris Johnson the more he was impressed by his intellectual ability … but as time wore on “I just lost complete trust in him; he has no moral compass”.
There was still disgust at partygate, with Jane remaining incandescent at what happened in the Johnson era.
Voters want a general election more than another Tory leadership contest
Patrick, the most ardent Conservative supporter of the group, said that if the Conservatives do not rally round Liz Truss, “they’re committing political suicide”.
Jane, however, said that we were already past the point of no return: “I don’t think she’ll survive. I think she’ll gradually give up on things because she’ll watch her popularity ebb away, then she’ll not be able to manage her MPs and we will have a general election sooner rather than later.
Three of the group said that Tories should get rid of Liz Truss. Four of the seven wanted an early election.
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Core one nation Conservative values still looked popular
The danger for Labour and Starmer is that there is a lingering fear of the left, and a residual affection for core Tory values. Patrick said the Tories should go back to standing for law and order, high growth, low taxes, and supporting aspirations.
Self-styled centrist Jane said that as well as strong public services, she believed in a healthy economy to provide the tax revenues to support them.
Jasmine, who could now support Labour, said the “Tories have still got the interests of the country at heart in essence”.
The focus group participants are profoundly worried about the future
Every member of the group said they were “negative” about Britain’s future.
Stephanie said she had no faith in those in charge to solve the nation’s problems. Jane said she was feeling “quite highly anxious” for her children, adding that there was an “arrogant disconnect” between leaders and voters but what was different this time was the “borderline desperation” epitomised by the use of food banks.
Phyllis felt it was less bad in the 1980s than today because in the Thatcher era there was greater social mobility then.
David said that the difference between the 1970s and now is house prices. Jane concluded by saying she thought “we’re on the edge of some social unrest”, adding she “doesn’t want to see strikes and wants everyone to negotiate but some people are going to be so desperate.”
It is hard to remain in power if that sentiment is widely felt.
Rescue and recovery and efforts are underway in parts of South and Southeast Asia where the number of those killed in devastating flooding continues to rise.
The extreme weather last week has killed at least 334 people in Sri Lanka, 502 in Indonesia, and 170 in Thailand, according to authorities.
Rescuers in Sri Lanka are still searching for 370 people after a cyclone hit the island nation, with downpours flooding homes, fields and roads and triggering landslides in the hilly central region.
Landslides in Sarasavigama village near Kandy, Sri Lanka. Pic: AP
A man wades through the flooded street, following heavy rainfall in Wellampitiya, Sri Lanka. Pic: Reuters
A man uses a makeshift raft at a flooded area, following Cyclone Ditwah in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Pic: Reuters
Nearly a million people have been impacted by the heavy rains and floods, which forced nearly 200,000 into shelters, the country’s disaster management centre said.
People were seen salvaging belongings from flooded homes along the banks of the Kelani river near capital Colombo on Monday.
Meanwhile, train and flight services have resumed after being disrupted last week, but schools stayed closed, officials said.
Cyclone Ditwah was the “largest and most challenging” natural disaster in Sri Lanka’s history, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.
A landslide survivor crosses a section of a damaged road in Sarasavigama village near Kandy, Sri Lanka. Pic: AP
Landslide survivors salvage belongings at the site of a landslide in Sarasavigama village near Kandy, Sri Lanka. Pic: AP
A man uses his scarf to protect himself from the rain in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, in Chennai, India. Pic: Reuters
The cyclone also brought heavy rain to India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu over the weekend, with authorities saying three people were killed in rain-related incidents.
The storm, which is currently 50km (30 miles) off the coast of the state capital Chennai, has already weakened into a “deep depression” and is expected to weaken further in the next 12 hours, weather officials said on Monday.
Hundreds still missing in Indonesia
In Southeast Asia, close to 700 people were killed as two different cyclones hit the region. Rescuers in Indonesia are still searching for at least 508 people missing, according to official figures.
People have started clearing mud, trees and wreckage from roads on the weekend as recovery operations continued.
More than 28,000 homes have been damaged, with 1.4 million people affected by the rare tropical storm.
The country’s president, Prabowo Subianto, called it a catastrophe and pledged to rebuild infrastructure as he visited the three affected provinces on Monday, where nearly 300,000 people have been displaced by the flooding.
Rescuers search for flood victims in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Pic: AP
A flooded field in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province. Pic: Reuters
Rescuers search for victims at a village affected by flash flooding, in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Pic: AP
In Thailand, flooding in eight southern provinces affected about three million people and led to a major mobilisation of its military to evacuate critical patients from hospitals and reach people stuck in floodwaters for days.
In the worst-affected city of Hat Yai, a southern trading hub, 335 mm (13 inches) of rain fell on 21 November, its highest single-day tally in 300 years, followed by days of unrelenting downpours.
At least 82 people have died and more than 3 million people have been impacted by floods in 12 southern Thai provinces.
People move a car damaged by floods in Songkhla province, southern Thailand. Pic: AP
Prime Minister Anutin Charnivirakul expects residents to be able to return home within seven days, a government spokesperson said on Monday.
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The first batch of compensation payments is set to be distributed on Monday, starting with 239m baht (£5.6m) for 26,000 people, the spokesperson added.
In Malaysia there have been at least three deaths and authorities are still on alert for a second and third wave of flooding as 11,600 remain in evacuation centres.
World
Zelenskyy to make first official visit to Ireland – as ‘productive’ Ukraine-US talks under way in Florida
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to make his first official visit to Ireland tomorrow, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has revealed.
The Ukrainian president will be accompanied by First Lady Olena Zelenska and meet Mr Martin, president Catherine Connolly and foreign minister Helen McEntee.
Mr Martin said he and Mr Zelenskyy would be holding a bilateral meeting, as well as attending the inauguration of the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum, which he said “offers an opportunity to explore the potential for strengthened business-to-business, trade and investment links between Ireland and Ukraine”.
Micheal Martin greets Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he briefly stops in Ireland on way to the US in February. Pic: Reuters
Speaking ahead of the visit, the Taoiseach said: “It is an honour to welcome President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to Ireland.
“Around the world, he is rightly recognised as someone who embodies the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people, who have inspired the world in their brave defence of their country and its sovereignty since it was brutally and illegally invaded by Russia.
“I have met with President Zelenskyy many times, including in Kyiv, but I particularly look forward to greeting him on this first official visit of a Ukrainian president to Ireland.”
Ireland has been a staunch ally of Ukraine’s since Russia began its invasion in 2022, offering some 120,000 Ukrainians a safe haven.
US-Ukraine talks begin in Florida
The Ireland announcement comes after Mr Zelenskyy’s top team engaged in peace talks with the US for several hours in Florida on Sunday.
The US-Ukraine talks were quickly organised after Donald Trump released a 28-point proposal that was largely seen to be favouring Russia, having been developed in earlier negotiations between Washington and Moscow.
The plan would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, blocked Ukraine from joining NATO and required it to hold elections in 100 days. It also initially envisioned Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia.
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Sky’s US correspondent David Blevins analyses what’s at state this week
Read more:
Who is Steve Witkoff, the property mogul seeking a peace deal?
Go behind the scenes on the frontline with new-look Sky News show
It isn’t clear what changes have been made so far, but US secretary of state Marco Rubio has reassured Ukraine over the plans.
“This is not just about ending a war. This is about ending a war in a way that creates a mechanism and a way forward that will allow them to be independent and sovereign, never have another war again, and create tremendous prosperity for its people,” he said.
“Not just rebuild the country, but to enter an era of extraordinary economic progress.”
He added: “This is not just about peace deals. It’s about creating a pathway forward that leaves Ukraine sovereign, independent and prosperous. We expect to make even more progress today.”
Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s security council, responded by saying the US was “hearing”, “supporting” and “working beside” Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy’s team in the US was without his former chief of staff and lead negotiator, Andrii Yermak, as he quit on Friday after officials raided his home amid a corruption scandal.
After the meeting, Mr Rubio said the talks had been “productive”, but more work remained to be done.
On X, Mr Zelenskyy said: “I am grateful to the United States, to President Trump’s team, and to the President personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war. We will continue working. I look forward to receiving a full report from our team during a personal meeting.”
Later this week, Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Moscow to continue talks with the Kremlin.
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‘Ukrainians have a delicate job’
Sustained Russian aerial assaults over the weekend
While peace talks ensued, Russian forces launched overnight attacks in and around Kyiv over the weekend, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens more.
Impacts were also reported in the regions of Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy and Kherson.
Mr Zelenskyy said: “Such attacks occur daily. This week alone, Russians have used nearly 1,400 strike drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs and 66 missiles against our people. That is why we must strengthen Ukraine’s resilience every day.”
The attacks also hit Ukrainian energy facilities and left hundreds of thousands without power in the capital. Supplies have since been restored.
Targeting such infrastructure has become a familiar tactic from Russia over the winter, in what Ukraine officials say is the “weaponising” of the cold.
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Moment Ukraine strikes Russian ‘shadow fleet’ ships
Ukraine launched its own drones at two of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” oil tankers in the Black Sea on Friday, and claimed responsibility for damaging a major oil terminal on Saturday near the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
The terminal is owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which includes Russian, Kazakh and US shareholders.
Subsequently, on Sunday, Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said it viewed Ukraine’s attack as “an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine”, adding it expected Ukraine to “take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future”.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the country’s actions were not directed against Kazakhstan or third parties and were only aimed at repelling what it called “full-scale Russian aggression”.
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