THREAD: Why is public approval of the government’s handling of coronavirus so strong?

Despite facing substantial criticism about testing and PPE, the government is now even more popular than it was at the General Election (Source: @OpiniumResearch)

This reflects the fact that 60% believe the government is handling the crisis well. There are big differences depending on party political support, but even 34% of GE2019 Lab voters think the government is doing well. (From @YouGov)

There is also a big difference between Remain and Leave voters in terms of government approval, but this is probably explained by the fact most Labour voters are Remainers and most Tory voters are Leavers.

Nevertheless, a majority (61%) think the government didn’t act quickly enough. There seems to be an overall attitude of “yes, the government made mistakes but they are understandable/forgiveable”. Summed up here by Sunder’s parents-in-law: https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1252354238086176769?s=19

Part of the reason may be that *most* (but by no means all) people are not currently suffering very badly as a result of the crisis. 89% say they are coping well or very well (according to YouGov). Young people are the most likely to be coping badly.

Meanwhile, the media have come under fire for being too critical of the government’s approach.

Only 24% trust TV journalists on the issue of coronavirus– 64% do not. 17% trust the newspapers – 72% do not. ( @YouGov)

Chris Whitty and Boris Johnson both have positive ratings.

To many people, it seems as if the media shouldn’t be criticising and being negative about the government’s performance at a time of national crisis. It seems that Johnson has successfully established a wartime narrative where everyone needs to “rally around the flag”

This puts Labour in a difficult position - anything other than “constructive criticism” may well come across as politicking and unhelpful to non-partisan members of the public. *For now*.

But an economic crisis is looming. Research from @britishchambers shows 59% of firms have cash reserves which will last 3 months or less. It is unclear how long the government can afford its furlough scheme given it could cost up to £40bn just for 3 months.

An exit strategy that avoids economic catastrophe will probably depend on mass testing (see report from @InstituteGC https://institute.global/policy/sustainable-exit-strategy-managing-uncertainty-minimising-harm) and the government looks like it will fail to meet its target on daily tests by the end of the month.

Meanwhile there are some signs that the public is starting to become more negative about the government. This from @Orb_Int shows approval of government handling down from a high of 68% to 52% last weekend.

The same survey finds that the nation is split specifically on the topic of testing and PPE delivery – 48% agree the government is doing all it can to increase testing and deliver PPE – while 42% disagree.

So when Labour *does* criticise the government it must be for specific failings, and it should be done with a view to preventing future damage rather than seeking to cast blame for the past. Keir Starmer captures this well in his letter to Johnson. https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1254318723332214785?s=20

This is frustrating for many Labour supporters. But we are only at the beginning of this crisis. This is a marathon, and not a sprint. Here’s a link to an article I wrote for @ProgressOnline on this subject: https://twitter.com/ProgressOnline/status/1253307446719918080?s=20