Public backs Government's Spain quarantine decision but Tory lead continues to slump, new poll shows
The Tories continue to see a slump in popularity despite the public backing the Government's quick-fire decision to reimpose quarantine restrictions on Spain, according to a new poll.
Data from polling company Opinium Research has suggested that close to two-thirds of people agreed with suspension of the travel corridor with Spain.
But almost half of those surveyed this week disapproved of the Government’s handling of the crisis, said Opinium.
The number of people who thought the lockdown had been eased too quickly rose by three points, up to 51 per cent, in the past week.
A decline in Tory popularity means they lead Labour by only three points with Mr Johnson’s party on 41 per cent and Labour up to 38 per cent, according to the poll.
Meanwhile, the new quarantine rules with Spain were only objected to by only 13 per cent of the population, according to Opinium’s results.
It comes as 63 per cent of people who had booked holidays confirmed they had seen their trip cancelled and another fifth said their plans had been postponed.
Three-quarters of those surveyed said they thought it likely a second wave of Covid-19 infections would hit the UK, with marginally more – 32 per cent to 30 per cent – judging that a second spike would be larger than the first.
The polling results come after the Prime Minister said on Friday he needed to “squeeze the brake pedal” on easing restrictions amid signs Covid-19’s prevalence in the community was rising for the first time since May.
The planned relaxations for the leisure and beauty sectors have been postponed, while further pilots for spectators at sports events were also cancelled.
In what will be seen as a boost for the economy, the public look to becoming more confident about eating out and visiting pubs, with the number of those who have gone to restaurants or who plan to soon increasing to 33 per cent – up from 27 per cent a fortnight ago.
The news coincides with the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which will see the Government pay half the bill, up to a maximum cost of £10, for meals eaten between Monday and Wednesday in August at participating restaurants.
The Opinium survey was carried out online between July 30-31, with 2,002 UK adults taking part.
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