The Autumn Statement has done nothing to turn around the Tories’ fortunes, another opinion poll has confirmed.
According to an Opinium survey for The Observer, Labour has increased its lead over the Conservatives to 16 points.
The Tories are on 26%, one point down on last week, while support for Labour has increased by two points to 42%.
It follows a separate poll by Techne UK, carried out in the wake of the Autumn Statement last Wednesday, which put Labour 25 points ahead after Tory support dropped to just 21%.
Adam Drummond, head of policy and social research at Opinium, said: “Expecting a single fiscal event to revive the ratings of a 13-year old government may be unrealistic but, compared to the black-swan event of last year’s equivalent, it’s possible that the relative quietness of this week’s autumn statement is a measure of success.
“However, the Conservatives still trail Labour on handling the economy and only 20% of voters want tax cuts if it also means cutting spending on public services so it’s hard to see promises of future cuts appealing to those outside the Tory base”
The findings are a huge blow to Sunak, who had hoped that the Autumn Statement would begin to turn around the Tories’ fortunes.
Hunt unveiled what he described as “the biggest package of tax cuts since the 1980s” as he declared the UK economy has “turned a corner”.
The chancellor announced £20 billion-worth of cuts to National Insurance and business taxes, funded by cuts to public services.
However, within minutes it emerged that the overall tax burden is set to hit a new post-war record by the end of the decade.
The Autumn Statement has also been overshadowed by allegations that home secretary James Cleverly called a town in northern England as a “shithole” in the House of Commons.
And a fresh Tory civil war has broken out after new figures revealed the government is on course to break its manifesto pledge to cut immigration.