May’s approval ratings nosedive after “presidential” campaign backfires

Theresa May’s approval ratings have plunged, according to a new survey, which showed voters do not want to see a hung parliament.

The Tory leader has seen her personal rating turn into a net negative score as she nears the end of a campaign in which she has performed an immediate u-turn on her manifesto, ducked television debates and grimaced through a series of encounters with reporters and the public.

Tonight the ComRes poll for the Sunday Mirror and The Independent showed Jeremy Corbyn has registered a marked improvement in his personal rating, although still has a negative score.

May has a favourability rating of 39 per cent while 42 per cent regard her unfavourably, giving a net rating of minus three, down 12.

Her campaign started as presidential in style but some Tory candidates later described it as “the worst ever” by their party.

Corbyn’s numbers are 32/47 favourable/unfavourable, giving a net rating of minus 15, up 18.

In a separate question for the pollster, only a quarter (28 per cent) said they wanted a hung parliament while nearly two thirds (59 per cent) said they preferred to see an overall majority.

Comres’ voting intention poll was as follows:

Conservatives: 47 per cent (+1)

Labour: 35 per cent (+1)

Lib Dems: 8 per cent (no change)

UKIP: 4 per cent (NC)

SNP: 3 per cent (-1)

Greens: 1 per cent (-1)