A new trust in politicians has been born, but will it last?

By Tom Carnegie, Consultant

When the population of a country unite against a common enemy governments historically experience a boost in support and ratings.

COVID -19 has been no exception to this as we hear UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson referring to the fight against Coronavirus as though the nation is at war, with the NHS being the frontline and “flattening the curve” being the battle plan. Something we have all rallied behind through social distancing and supporting one another in order to save lives.

Support for this rallying approach is increasing by the day, with Pollster YouGov reporting that while only 55% thought the UK government was handing the COVID – 19 issue “very” or “somewhat” well on 13 March, this has now risen to 68% on 14 April. Further, YouGov reports that Boris Johnson’s approval rating as Prime Minister is now at an all-time high, with 66% believing he is handling the job “fairly well” or “very well”.

Newgate’s Research team has seen a similar increase in support for the Australian government and its COVID – 19 policy. After polling 1000 Australian’s they found that 76% now believe Australia is responding appropriately to coronavirus (up from 66% last week and 56% the week before) with a significant fall in those who believe the Country is not taking the issue seriously enough. Further, there is a continued week-on-week growth in confidence for the nation’s leaders.

Australian’s are also rallying behind social distancing policies and the Newgate data suggests the community largely adhered to these over Easter. 89% are now staying home more than they usually would (a new study high) and there is a drop in the proportion who say that others are not taking social distancing seriously enough.

Lastly, Australians’ advice to its leaders this week is to stay the course and continue to take tough measures. While over here in the UK, in the words of Boris Johnson, we continue to make progress in “a fight we never picked against an enemy we still don’t entirely understand”.