The approval rating of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer against the backdrop of mass unrest in the country has reached its lowest level since the beginning of the elections, the Telegraph newspaper writes, citing a survey conducted by the sociological and consulting company Savanta.
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On Saturday, Sky News reported that Starmer had canceled his holiday amid ongoing protests in the country.
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“As unrest spreads across the UK, his popularity among the public is at its lowest since the election,” Chris Hopkins, director of political research at Savanta, said.
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The survey found that Starmer’s approval rating was at its highest on July 28, the day before the first riots, but had dropped significantly by August 4. In addition, the share of voters who strongly disapprove of the activities of the new prime minister has increased. The publication does not provide information on how many people took part in the survey.
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On Tuesday, YouGov published research showing that almost half of people in the UK think Keir Starmer has handled the riots poorly.
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At the end of July, mass protests broke out in many British cities after a 17-year-old teenager attacked children with a knife in the city of Southport. Then three children died, several more children and two adults were taken to the hospital in critical condition.
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The protests escalated into clashes with police and riots after rumors that the perpetrator of the attack was a refugee. It later became known that the attacker was born into a family of migrants from Rwanda. Hundreds of people were detained, dozens of police officers were injured during the riots organized by supporters of far-right groups.
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Amid the unrest, British authorities convened the government’s emergency COBRA committee three times. Prime Minister Starmer has promised to increase police presence on the streets of British cities, speed up criminal proceedings, and prosecute those responsible for inciting unrest on social media.
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The Ministry of Justice reported that to counter the violence, an additional 500 places in prisons were freed up and 6 thousand employees of specialized police departments were deployed.
