'More people think Dominic Cummings should resign' after Downing Street statement
26 May 2020, 14:28
Dominic Cummings' statement failed to convince the British public he was right to break lockdown, and more now think he should resign, according to a snap poll.
Since the statement, 71 per cent now believe Mr Cummings' journey to Durham broke lockdown rules, up from 68 per cent the day before.
The percentage of people that think he should resign also increased, from 52 per cent on Saturday to 59 per cent.
During Monday's statement, Dominic Cummings laid out a detailed defence of his trip to his parents’ house in Durham in an hour-long press conference in Downing Street’s garden.
The PM's senior aide admitted he had travelled 250 miles to Durham from London to seek childcare when he and his wife feared they were getting ill with coronavirus.
He also admitted visiting a local beauty spot, Barnard Castle, during the height of lockdown which was 30 miles away from where he was staying, but claimed he had made his journey to test his eyesight.
When those surveyed were asked about their political allegiance the outcome did not change, with a majority of voters across all major parties agreeing that Dominic Cummings' actions did break lockdown.
88 per cent of Labour voters said it did, with 86 per cent of Lib Dems and 56 per cent of Conservatives agreeing.
This was also true between Leavers and Remainers, with the majority from both sides also saying he should resign.
However, those who said they vote Tory are still split over whether he should resign.
It follows the news that Boris Johnson's approval ratings have dropped into minus figures as he refuses to fire his senior aide Dominic Cummings over allegations he broke lockdown rules.
The Prime Minister's rating was +19 per cent four days ago, according to data tracker Savanta, but has now plunged to -1 per cent following his handling of the Cummings scandal.
The data also suggests that the overall government approval rate plunged to minus two per cent - marking a 16 per cent drop in a single day.
1,160 adults were surveyed on the 25th and 26th May 2020. All those surveyed were asked after Dominic Cummings’ statement had finished.
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