Labour’s Rachel Reeves has opened up a clear lead over the Conservatives’ Jeremy Hunt when voters are asked who should be the next chancellor of the exchequer, according to an exclusive poll for Sky News.
The Labour shadow chancellor is the choice of 21% of voters, according to YouGov, while Jeremy Hunt is judged to make the better chancellor by 14%.
Ms Reeves and Mr Hunt have been broadly neck-and-neck in the polls since Mr Hunt was appointed chancellor last October, so this poll represents the first moment where the opposition have taken a meaningful lead.
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Traditionally, Labour has struggled to win the economic argument at election time, meaning this lead is likely to cheer Labour HQ.
There are still 65% of the public who say they don’t know, offering a significant opportunity for the Conservatives.
However, the personal standing of Mr Hunt among former Tory voters could ring an alarm bell in Conservative HQ.
Among voters who chose the Tories in the 2019 general election, only a quarter – just 27% – think Mr Hunt would make the better chancellor.
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In the run-up to the 2015 general election, David Cameron and then-Tory chancellor George Osborne were considerably ahead of then-Labour leader Ed Miliband and shadow chancellor Ed Balls in YouGov polls.
Labour is also ahead on all the main economic measures, although there remain a high proportion of voters who are yet to make up their mind.
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Voters trust Labour to deliver economic growth more than the Tories, by 24% to 22%, with 54% unsure.
Sir Keir Starmer‘s party is twice as likely as Rishi Sunak‘s to be trusted to handle the cost of living, by 32% to 16% and 55% unsure.
Meanwhile, Labour is also trusted to tackle inflation by a big margin – 29% think a Labour government led by Sir Keir would handle the issue better than a Tory one with Mr Sunak, the choice of 12%.
Labour is also more trusted to help people on to the housing ladder, by 34% to 12% for the Tories.
The only issue where the Tories have a small advantage, within the margin of error, is when asked who would be better placed to deal with the deficit – with 23% saying Mr Sunak’s Conservatives and 22% saying Labour.
