Liz Truss bad for Britain on world stage, majority of voters say

Liz Truss does not have what it takes to best represent British interests when dealing with senior international leaders, according to more than half the people who have taken part in a newly published poll.

More than 52 per cent say they have little or no confidence that the prime minister will perform well on the world stage, with the same number holding that this comes after the country’s reputation was already seriously tarnished during the Boris Johnson years.

Pessimism about what lies ahead was also echoed by a majority (52 per cent) who believe that Brexit has damaged Britain, with a large number (46 per cent to 19 per cent) holding that the process has been badly mismanaged. Only 7 per cent thought that the UK’s standing in the world has been improved by the political situation in this country in the past few months.

Just 6 per cent of the 2,096 British adults questioned by Deltapoll for The National newspaper said they were “very confident” that Ms Truss would be an effective world leader.

Nearly one-third (30 per cent) said they were “not very confident” about her being in Downing Street domestically or internationally, while 22 per cent said they were “not at all confident”. But 28 per cent were “quietly confident” about how her leadership will develop.

The survey was taken during the prime minister’s first week in office and reflects, say the pollsters, the mood at the start of a new chapter in the nation’s history following the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III.

The poll was carried out between 9 and 12 September, before last Friday’s mini-Budget, which was followed by a further slip in Tory support.

Other findings from the poll include: 71 per cent of people questioned want the government to prioritise controlling energy costs over climate challenges at present and 78 per cent backed concerted European action to tackle the energy crisis.

Some 54 per cent felt the UN should seek to end the Ukraine war, the main driver of the energy crisis.

Seventy-six per cent backed the imposition of sanctions on Russia but 56 per cent also felt that the UK has done enough to help Ukraine in the conflict.

And 40 per cent said the UK was right to follow the US in withdrawing from Afghanistan last year, compared to 37 per cent who said it was the wrong decision.

The same number backed another international intervention there if that became necessary.