The West’s military strikes on Syria have improved the Conservative Party’s standing with British voters, a new poll suggests.
A YouGov poll for The Times newspaper, published on Saturday, shows the Tories on 43 per cent, up three points since last week.
The Labour Party is polling at 38 per cent, down two points. Its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, described the Syrian attack as “legally questionable” amid frustration that parliament hadn’t been consulted.
The five-point lead for the ruling party is its biggest advantage since last year’s general election, in which Prime Minister Theresa May squandered her parliamentary majority.
It comes at a time when the topic of defence and security is surging in importance for voters. The poll showed the subject is up five points, and has now overtaken crime.
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Read more:
Chemical weapons use 'normalised' by Syria, says UK's Theresa May
Labour's Corbyn calls Syrian strikes 'legally questionable'
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The most important topic for voters remains Brexit, followed by health and immigration.
Britain joined the US and France in launching more than 100 missiles against Syrian government targets on April 14. The prime minister said it was clear that only the Assad regime could have conducted the suspected chlorine attack on Douma the week before, which killed dozens.
However, Mr Corbyn, who has opposed British military action throughout his career, said Mrs May “should have sought parliamentary approval, not trailed after [US President] Donald Trump”.
The YouGov poll showed Mrs May’s personal ratings increasing further ahead of Mr Corbyn’s. Thirty-nine per cent of voters believe the Conservative leader would make the best prime minister, up two points, compared with the Labour leader on 25 per cent, down one point.
The poll of 1,631 adults was taken at the start of last week, just days after the Western air strikes on Syria.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
The biog
Name: James Mullan
Nationality: Irish
Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”
Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off
