Support for Tory party nosedives amid Dominic Cummings controversy, YouGov poll finds

The Conservative Party's lead over Labour has plunged by nine points in a week according to a new poll which lays bare the scale of the political damage caused by the Dominic Cummings' controversy.

The YouGov voting intention survey, commissioned by the Times, recorded the biggest drop in a lead in a decade and is likely to sharpen criticism that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is wasting political capital on his top aide over the row surrounding his alleged breach of coronavirus lockdown rules.

The poll showed support for the Tories was down by four points, to 44 per cent, compared with a week ago, before it was revealed that Mr Cummings drove to Durham at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Labour made a gain of five points during the same period, with 38 per cent of respondents saying they would back Sir Keir Starmer's party if an election were held tomorrow.

Chris Curtis, political research manager at YouGov, described the polling as "pretty damning for the Government".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday, Mr Curtis said the survey showed Mr Cummings' attempt on Monday at a hastily-arranged Downing Street press conference to explain his actions and "win over the British public" had "failed".

"There were lots of polls out yesterday from lots of different companies and the message was fairly consistent across all of them, which was that the government’s numbers are going down and the public are very upset about this," he added.

“The Conservatives started off with a massive lead and they still have a lead after this, but the drop is very significant."

The YouGov poll came after dozens of Conservative MPs from all wings of the party on Tuesday backed widespread calls for Mr Cummings to resign, or be sacked.

Douglas Ross, a junior minister in the Scotland Office, meanwhile resigned over the issue , saying he could not defend Mr Cummings’s actions to constituents who had adhered to the Government's “stay at home” lockdown advice.

However, several senior ministers - including Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Chancellor Rishi Sunak - have publicly backed Mr Johnson's chief adviser .

Mr Cummings, for his part, said at Monday's press conference that he had made the journey to Durham in March to be near relatives because he was worried he and his wife may not be able to look after their child if they both fell ill with coronavirus.

Mr Cummings added that, before returning to London, he went on a “short drive” with his wife and child to Barnard Castle , a town about 25 miles away.

He said he took the journey because he wanted to check he was safe to drive back to London after his eyesight had been affected by a suspected Covid-19 infection.

Polling released by YouGov on Tuesday suggested his appearance had done little to shift public opinion in his favour, however, with more than two-third of voters polled saying they thought Mr Cummings' actions breached lockdown rules.

The data also showed 59 per cent of 1,160 adults polled nationwide thought Mr Cummings should resign from his role over the controversy.

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