Big drop in confidence in Welsh Government’s handling of Covid-19 pandemic

Confidence in the Welsh government’s handling of coronavirus has fallen 21pts in a month, according to YouGov.

The pollster revealed that 45% now thought the government was doing a good job of handling the matter, down 21 points since 16 November. Meanwhile, 47% thought they were handling it badly, up 19%.

The Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford also saw a drop in how confident the Welsh public are that he will make the right decisions on coronavirus.

44% had a great deal or fair amount of trust in his handling of the issue, down 11 points since 16 November, while there was a 12 point rise in those with not very much or no trust to 45%.

His ratings, however, remain higher than those of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. YouGov data showed that just 35% hold a favourable view of the prime minister, compared to 54% who say unfavourable.

Split

These latest figures come after the introduction of new hospitality lockdown rules forcing pubs and restaurants to close by 6pm and preventing them from serving alcohol.

The public are similarly split when it comes to this policy, with 45% supporting the move and 46% opposing it.

This support is considerably lower than that for many other lockdown policies the Welsh government has introduced over the past year. Back in October for example, the public supported the ‘firebreak’ lockdown by 60% to 26%.