No clear alternative to Sunak as party leader among 2019 Tory voters, poll suggests
There is no clear alternative to lead the Conservative Party if Rishi Sunak were to be ousted, new polling has suggested.
Questions about the prime minister’s future have been raised by the calls for him to go from Sir Simon Clarke, and the defection of his pollster Will Dry to a group seeking his removal.
Researchers at Ipsos UK carried out a survey of 1,087 UK adults – although before Sir Simon and Mr Dry’s actions were public.
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According to the polling, among 2019 Conservative voters, 42% have a favourable view of Mr Sunak, while 29% have an unfavourable view.
The two closest contenders to Mr Sunak, in the view of 2019 Tories, are both not eligible replacements – Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson.
Neither are currently MPs.
Both men have a 43% favourability rating among the cohort, while 29% have an unfavourable view of Mr Farage and 34% have an unfavourable view of Mr Johnson.
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How serious is plot to oust PM?
Other potential replacements include Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary James Cleverly.
Mr Hunt has 38% favourability among 2019 Conservatives and 31% unfavourability.
Mr Cleverly has 28% favourability and 26% unfavourability.
Read more:
Sir Simon Clarke calls for Sunak to step down
PM’s former aide joins effort to oust him
According to pollsters, 53% of the whole population have an unfavourable view of Mr Sunak, and 24% have a favourable view.
This is almost unchanged from September last year.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer doesn’t fair much better, with 41% viewing him unfavourably, and 28% viewing him favourably – again similar to the last polling in September.
See the state of the parties with the Sky News poll tracker
When it comes to the parties as a whole, the Labour Party has a 33% favourability score, and 39% unfavourability.
The Tories meanwhile have a 22% favourability score, with a 51% unfavourability.
The Greens have 26% favourability and a 31% unfavourability.
The Lib Dems have 20% favourability and a 36% unfavourability, while Reform has 18% favourability and a 39% unfavourability.
A fifth of 2019 Tories said they were likely to consider voting for Labour – 28% said they would consider choosing Reform.
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Keiran Pedley, director of politics at Ipsos, said: “With a majority of Britons unfavourable towards Rishi Sunak, six in 10 saying things are heading in the wrong direction and Labour maintaining a large poll lead over the Conservatives in voter preferences, leadership speculation is to be expected.
“However, it is unclear who would do a better job. No obvious alternative stands out among 2019 Conservative voters so far.
“Plus, given at least half of Britons have held unfavourable opinions towards the Conservative Party since early 2022, it’s not a given that a new leader will improve the party brand any time soon.”
A 53-year-old man has been charged after a car was driven into a crowd at Liverpool FC’s trophy parade.
Paul Doyle, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, has been charged with seven offences, Merseyside Police said.
The businessman, who is a father-of-three, is accused of two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and two counts of causing unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Paul Doyle
Doyle is also accused of two counts of attempted unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving.
He is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates Court on Friday.
The charges relate to six people, including two children. A wounding charge and an attempted grievous bodily harm charge relate to a child.
A police car was outside Doyle’s four-bedroom detached family home in the West Derby area on Thursday morning.
According to his social media, he has travelled extensively including Japan, Fiji, India and Australia. Doyle has posted pictures of himself competing in triathlons, and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
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New Liverpool incident footage
Thousands of fans were gathered in Liverpool city centre on Monday to celebrate the Premier League champions’ title win when a car struck a crowd on Water Street.
Police said a total of 79 people were injured in the incident, with the youngest aged nine, and the oldest being a 78-year-old.
Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Forensic officers at the scene in Water Street. Pic: PA
‘Huge volume of evidence’
Chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Mersey-Cheshire, Sarah Hammond, told a news conference on Thursday that the investigation was at an early stage and a “huge volume of evidence” was being reviewed.
“This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve.
“The charges will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.”
Police ‘working tirelessly’
Also at the briefing where the charges were announced was Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Jenny Sims, who said: “I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions.
“Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism, to seek the answer to all of those questions. When we are able to, we will provide further information.”
The youngest victim injured in the Liverpool parade crash on Monday is nine years old, police have said.
They added that the oldest is 78, with all 79 people injured understood to be British. Seven remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Merseyside Police declined to say what drug the 53-year-old man arrested over the incident is alleged to have taken.
“We wouldn’t go into this detail at this stage of the investigation,” the force said.
Police at the scene in Liverpool. Pic: AP
Forensic officers in Water Street. Pic: PA
Police are still questioning the driver and were granted further time to do so on Wednesday.
Officers have until Thursday evening to question the man from West Derby.
He is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
Police believe the car which struck pedestrians was able to follow an ambulance crew attending to someone suffering a heart attack after a road block was temporarily lifted.
Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool fans had turned out to celebrate their team’s Premier League title when the incident unfolded on Water Street just after 6pm on Monday.
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‘My boy in his pram, got bounced’
‘The best day of my life turned into worst’
Sky News interviewed a lifelong Liverpool fan who said his five-month-old son was “bounced” 15ft (4.6m) in his pram after they were hit by the vehicle.
The child was not counted in the police’s injury tally.
Daniel Eveson, 36, also said his partner had been driven over.
“The best day of my life turned into [the] worst,” Mr Eveson said.
He added: “Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.
“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.”
Read more:
How the parade crash unfolded
Police given more time to question Liverpool suspect
Why police released ‘unprecedented’ details
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Liverpool to meet with police chiefs and the local metro mayor.
He said he was being kept informed of developments, adding: “The scenes on Monday were just awful, to see how incredible joy at an amazing achievement turned to horror in a moment.”
Messages of support have been sent to the people of Liverpool, including from the King who said: “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales said they were “deeply saddened” by the incident.
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