Reeves as unpopular as Kwarteng at height of mini-Budget crisis

Telegraph

2 days ago

Rachel Reeves is now as unpopular as Kwasi Kwarteng during the height of the mini-Budget blow-up.
New polling shows that the Chancellor now inspires as little public confidence as Liz Truss's chancellor did during the fiscal crisis.
Some 51 per cent of voters think Ms Reeves is doing a 'bad job' at the Treasury, according to Ipsos. Just 16 per cent think she is doing a 'good job'.
In the aftermath of the mini-Budget in late September 2022, Ipsos found that 53 per cent of the public thought Mr Kwarteng was doing a 'bad job'.
He was sacked a fortnight later as Ms Truss scrambled to save her premiership.
Ms Truss's mini-Budget, a programme which included £45 billion in tax cuts, led to market chaos after it was announced by Mr Kwarteng in the House of Commons.
The resulting turmoil ended her stint in Downing Street after just 49 days.
Since she took office as Chancellor in July, Ms Reeves has been criticised for raising employer National Insurance contributions despite a manifesto pledge that National Insurance and income taxes would not rise under Labour.
Her early decision to remove the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners after changing the eligibility criteria has also provoked public ire, with the Government now set to reverse the decision in the coming months.
Yet despite Ms Reeves's poor personal ratings, Labour remains the most trusted party on economic affairs.
A fifth of voters now say that Labour is the party they trust most to manage the nation's finances, with Reform in second place on 17 per cent.
The Conservatives are now ranked third on 16 per cent, despite the economy previously being an electoral strength for the party.
The new figures come as separate polling shows a large proportion of Labour voters support the two-child benefit cap despite the Government's plans to scrap it.
New figures from pollster Opinium show that 42 per cent of Labour voters, and 44 per cent of voters overall, are in favour of keeping the cap.
The Government is considering ending the cap, which prevents parents from claiming tax credits or Universal Credit for their third and any subsequent children.
It was introduced into law by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition in 2013 but did not come into force until 2017.
Labour's Child Poverty Taskforce, set up to reduce levels of child poverty in Britain, is expected to recommend significant reforms or the total abolition of the cap later this year.
The Prime Minister is expected to implement any such recommendations. He has also reportedly committed in private to scrapping the two-child limit during this Parliament.
A large majority of Reform voters also support the cap despite Nigel Farage, the party leader, pledging to abolish it.
Some 59 per cent of Reform voters support the benefits cap.
Mr Farage repealing the cap, along with more tax breaks for married couples, is part of Reform's plan 'to encourage people to have children, to make it easier for them to have children'.
James Crouch, head of public affairs and policy at Opinium, said: 'While both Labour and Reform explore scrapping the two-child benefit cap, Opinium's latest polling shows their leadership could be out of step with many of their voters, who simply don't see it as affordable – whatever the rights or wrongs of the policy.'