Boris down, Drakeford up in Welsh public’s approval rating

Boris Johnson has seen a big decline in his approval ratings in Wales while First Minister Mark Drakeford has seen a marked increase, a YouGov poll has found.

Rated on a 0-10 scale, Boris Johnson’s approval fell to an average of 4.1 out of 10 compared to 5.3 out of 1 in the last Welsh poll in April.

Professor Roger Awan-Scully who designed the poll said on his website that Johnson’s ratings had declined in the last two months “to an extent that is rarely seen in polling”.

“The last time we saw a decline of this scale so quickly in a leader’s ratings in Wales was when the wheels rather spectacularly came off Theresa May’s general election campaign in summer 2017,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mark Drakeford’s rating had increased by almost as much from 4 out of 10 to 5.1 out of 10 on average.

‘Aware’

“For his first year and more in the job, it was a consistent finding that not only did many Welsh voters not
have a view on [Mark Drakeford], but those who did were generally fairly unimpressed,” Roger Awawn-Scully said.

“Now, not only have more Welsh voters begun to be aware of the First Minister, but those with views have become much more positive.

“Moreover, it is not only Labour supporters who are pleased with Mr Drakeford: indeed, Plaid Cymru Westminster supporters rate him every bit as highly as Labour voters do.”

The poll also suggested that more people had come to a conclusion about the leader of Welsh Labour than his UK counterpart Keir Starmer. 25% answered ‘don’t know’ when asked to rate Keir Stamer and 24% Mark Drakeford – a 16% decrease since April.

But there was also good news for Keir Starmer whose rating of 5.6 out of 10 is higher than Jeremy Corbyn ever reached in a Welsh Barometer Poll.