Labour takes huge 27-point poll lead as resurrection of David Cameron backfires

15 November 2023 , 20:00

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David Cameron has made a shock return as Foreign Secretary (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

A bombshell poll has handed Labour a massive 27-point lead as Rishi Sunak’s resurrection of David Cameron appears to have backfired.

The survey showed the Conservatives are still haemorrhaging support as the PM’s latest attempt to reboot his failing premiership falls flat.

The Find Out Now poll conducted in the wake of Monday’s reshuffle found support for the Tories has fallen by 4 points in just a fortnight to 19%. Labour was up 2 points to 46%, while backing for Reform UK also rose 2 points to 10%.

Lord Cameron who is no longer an MP was given a place in the House of Lords so he could take the £104,360-a-year job as Foreign Secretary without voters getting a say. The ex-PM, who left No10 in 2016 in the wake of the Brexit referendum, has been put in charge of the country’s foreign policy despite mistakes including cosying up to China in what was dubbed a “golden era”.

His attempts to make money after leaving Downing Street include working for the now collapsed Greensill Capital, which saw him go on a desert camping trip with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bin Salman just months after he was accused of ordering the brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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The Treasury Select Committee found he had shown a “significant lack of judgment” by lobbying ministers in a bid to get Covid cash for the firm in which he had a financial interest, including sending nine WhatsApp messages to Mr Sunak who was Chancellor.

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In a report in July, the Intelligence and Security Committee warned that it was “possible” Lord Cameron’s role as Vice President of the £1billion China-UK investment fund had been “engineered by the Chinese state”.

Earlier this week, the former Tory leader dismissed the criticism, saying: "As far as I am concerned, that is all dealt with and in the past. I now have one job, as Britain's Foreign Secretary." The newly ennobled peer, who had criticised Mr Sunak’s cancellation of HS2 to Manchester and cuts to foreign aid, wrote on X: “Though I may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable Prime Minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time.”

Find Out Now are members of the British Polling Council and Market Research Society and abide by their rules. The pollster interviewed 2,198 adults online in Great Britain on November 13 and 14.

John Stevens