Penny Mordaunt’s position and score are up in the wake of her sword-wielding role at the Coronation – from fourth on 49.5 to second on 62.4.
James Cleverly remains third and his score is essentially static. His setpiece speech on China, unpopular with hawks on that subject, has done him no harm.
It seems that the same can’t be said for Kemi Badenoch’s handling of the EU Retained Law Bill. I can’t think of any other reason for her drop from second to fourth and from 60.4 to 46.7.
Suella Braverman is up a place but down points – from seventh to sixth and from 47.3 to 37.9. What’s responsible? Immigration? The speeding penalty row? Her speech to the National Conservatives?
The man who was a place above her in the table last month falls to mid-table: none other than Rishi Sunak himself. His rating was 47.4. Now is 21.6.
Note that Oliver Dowden, eleventh from bottom on 22.5 last month, is now seventh from the floor on 7.6 – just above the relegation zone.
Only Therese Coffey was in it last month – in other words, in negative ratings. This month, she’s joined by no fewer than six others: Michael Gove, Grant Shapps, Andrew Mitchell, Jeremy Hunt and Robert Jenrick.
That’s a record – and a sign that the panel is thoroughly fed up with the Government as a whole. The scores of nearly everyone else is down, and those of the exceptions are only marginally up.
Immigration and inflation will have played their part, but the biggest factor of all will have been the local elections and their aftermath. Greg Hands’ rating is down from 25.4 to 11.1.