Britons turn critical of government’s pandemic response

The British public’s view of the government’s management of the coronavirus crisis has turned negative for the first time since February and they are worried about the risk of a new wave of infections, according to a survey published on Thursday.

Against a backdrop of a renewed rise in cases caused by the Delta variant of the virus, Kantar Public said 48% of people it polled thought the government was handling COVID-19 poorly, up three points from July, while 43% said it was doing well, down six points.

Two-thirds of respondents were concerned that there would be further waves of COVID-19 infections after the summer compared with 28% who were not concerned.

Britain has suffered one of the world’s heaviest COVID-19 death tolls and it locked down its economy for longer than many other countries last year, and in early 2021.

But it has also rolled out vaccinations at a faster rate than its peers which boosted the approval ratings of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government earlier this year.

The Kantar poll also showed a fall this month in the share of people who expected the economy would be doing better in 12 months’ time – down seven percentage points to 30%.