The main headline from today's politics (for those not watching a bank holiday press conference)
- No regrets from PM adviser
+ PM backs adviser
- No regrets from PM adviser
+ PM backs adviser
'No regrets' is also the shorthand on sympathetic (Express, Telegraph) and apolitical (Star) papers that don't lead with the Cummings story.
A couple of exceptions to "no regrets" in Times & Yorkshire Post reporting the story.
No 10 will be happier with the Sun's coverage.
- Putting post-lockdown policy over Cummings
- Reporting Cummings' voice positively. 'Aide hits back'
- Putting post-lockdown policy over Cummings
- Reporting Cummings' voice positively. 'Aide hits back'
Telegraph straight reporting of growing Tory revolt. With 35 MPs going on the record, the newspaper reports that 6 Cabinet members have privately said they believe the adviser should resign
The Daily Mail has much detailed polling on the Cummings affair. Ht @montie
The details will not settle backbench nerves
The details will not settle backbench nerves
The JL partners findings are a bit tougher than the YouGov findings: 66% to 17% (+49) for resignation, including Conservative voters by 55-33 (+22). 17% (a third of Conservatives) believe the adviser is telling the truth overall.
Most people (7/10 people) would not change their own behaviour on self-isolating because of Dominic Cummings conduct. (1 in 6 say they would be more likely to self-isolate because of DC, which is odder answer than "no difference")
Times has the Conservative lead down by 9% from 15% to 6% lead. (Plenty of reasons to take voting intention polls with a pinch of salt in pandemic 4 years before GE, but pace of change will catch the eye).
The government has been obsessive in its tracking of public attitudes during the pandemic to inform its messaging (certainly) and no doubt at least some of its policy choices too.
The Star is the newspaper least interested in Westminster village stories - so No 10 might be esp worried if the Star thinks this has broken through as a comedy meme to non-politicos
JL Partners/Daily Mail poll tables
The Sun, two days in a row, puts post-lockdown policy for the public first, giving least prominence to the political crisis.
57% of people think the media coverage is fair (33% think "very fair"). A third of people feel the media coverage is unfair (18% think it is "very unfair"). Broadly aligns with critical/support views of Cummings: some sceptical of DC & sceptical of media
