Nick Robinson asks Rishi Sunak ‘Where was the proposal for a tax on meat?’
Conservative MPs have told Rishi Sunak he will reap polling rewards if he goes further and faster in announcing sensible and popular Tory policies.
The calls came after a shock poll yesterday suggested Mr Sunak’s big net zero speech last week had finally swung the dial in the Tories’ favour.
Deltapoll polled voters in the days after Mr Sunak’s climbdown over major Net Zero targets and saw support for the Conservatives rocket by five points.
Labour was also down three points, closing the gap between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer by eight points in just a week.
Tory MPs have now called on the Prime Minister to grab the initiative and announce more common-sense policies to build more momentum and win the next election.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak’s green policy climb down vindicated by fresh poll bounce
Net zero-sceptic Philip Davies told the Express that while the poll “comes as no surprise to me”, Rishi Sunak should show he is prepared to be pragmatic and sensible over HS2 as well.
He said: “The Prime Minister has shown he is pragmatic, has very sensible instincts and that he is bold and brave enough to break the cosy consensus of the metropolitan elite.
“If the reports are right that he is prepared to do the same with HS2 which the public knows is a ludicrous white elephant then I would expect this poll trend to continue.”
Fellow net zero sceptic Craig Mackinlay acknowledged that the remaining 16-point Labour lead is “unfavourable”, but the “marked narrowing” of the Tories’ poll deficit was undoubtedly a result of the PM’s new Net Zero commitments.
He said: “My message to the PM is that voters rather like sound Conservative policies and we should never hold back in getting them heard. Voters are saying ‘more please’.
“The summer is over and Sir Keir’s flip-flops are ready for the bin.”
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Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson said the poll “comes as no surprise” after the PM announced policies “that appeal to the British public”.
Red Wall Tory Brendan Clarke-Smith added that the poll showed “sensible, pragmatic and Conservative approaches to policy will win us back the voters we need to succeed at the next General Election”.
Kemi Badenoch’s feisty Sky News interview, in which she confronted a presenter over claims poor people don’t drive, also received praise from one Tory MP, who said his voters were “outraged” at the “ludicrous assumption”.
They said: “For many, especially those in rural areas and towns, the car is a necessity, not a luxury.”
Tories will now head into their party conference much more hopeful than they may have been had Mr Sunak not made such a brave speech last week.
They also hope Sir Keir Starmer’s continual flip-flopping – most recently over HS2 – will worry voters.
Mr Clarke-Smith said the Labour leader has “already demonstrated that he can’t withstand scrutiny with his flip-flopping”.
Lee Anderson added that “Starmer keeps forgetting what he said about HS2 just a few years ago.
“The more cynical among us may think that Starmer needs a long course of Truth Serum which will show the great British public what he really believes in.”
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