I was given exclusive access to a working-class voter focus group run by Public First, which described Ms Mordaunt as the strongest candidate in the Tory leadership contest and the front-runner to unseat Labour. The group, which was made up of five first-time Tory voters from Wolverhampton, gave a damning assessment of the former defense secretary’s closest rivals, branding Rishi Sunak ‘out of touch’ and Liz Truss as ‘a John Major, gray type character’. It is the first time a survey has been carried out during the Tory leadership race to see how the leading candidates would fare against Sir Keir in an election. When the group was shown a video of the Labor leader, two of the five could not name him but recognized him. When asked to describe him, they said he was “closer to the common people” and would “stand up for the working class”, but overall they said he was “a bit bland”. Two in five said they were likely to vote Labor at the next election and the rest Tory, but when asked the question with different Tory candidates as leader, the mood changed. After watching a clip from the launch of Mr Sunak’s leadership campaign, every member of the group could name him, but despite immediate recognition, they were hostile towards the former Chancellor. One member of the group, a mother-of-two who works for NatWest, said: “I have no faith in him.” Others were quick to point out his fortune, describing him as ‘out of touch’, ‘very slick’ and, simply put, ‘cut’, although they praised his business acumen. When asked who they would vote for between Mr Sunak and Sir Keir as prime minister, three of the group said they would prefer the incumbent Labor leader and only one would vote for the Tory front-runner. But views changed when they came across a video of Ms Mordaunt. While only one of the group could name the new favorite in the leadership race, hearing her speak excited her more than Mr Sunak. “When he speaks it sounds like he’s coming from the heart a bit more, especially compared to Rishi. It sounds a little too slick and Starmer sounds too robotic,” said one of the team, a quality engineer for a manufacturer.
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Compared to Ms Truss, the group was unanimous that Ms Mordaunt “could do better”. “She has more energy about her,” said one member, a cleaner and carer. “Liz Truss seems a little cold.” When asked who they would vote for between Ms Mordaunt and Sir Keir, three of the group said they would vote Conservative, another was undecided and only one would vote Labour. By far the worst performer in the eyes of the focus group was the Secretary of State. After viewing Mrs Truss’s campaign video, two could name her and everyone recognized her, but her consensus as a politician was brutal. “It looks treacherous,” said the engineer. “She seems untrustworthy, too much like a politician – even more so than Rishi.” Another, who runs his own mobile disco company, said: “It looks a bit like her [John Major] Spitting image puppet. There is so much gray around her features. She comes across as a Theresa May-type character.” “It wouldn’t be one of my top picks to vote for after watching this video,” the bank employee said. Even when told of her pro-Brexit credentials, the Leave voting group said it made no difference. “I think Brexit is a big mess,” said the mother-of-two, who works at a car dealership. When asked who they would vote for between Ms Truss and Sir Keir, three of the group said they would vote Labour, one would vote Tory and another said they would reluctantly support the Conservatives led by Ms Truss. Crucially, one of the group who said they would vote Labour, added: “If you put Penny in there I would have completely changed my mind.” Another added: “I’d give Penny a shot over Truss.” “We need fresh blood. Let a female go and let’s see how she does.” Ed Dorrell, director at Public First, a research and policy consultancy, and moderator of the focus group, said voters often like Sir Keir but are “not impressed by him”. “As it stands, he is doomed by association with all the other front-line politicians. This is probably the secret of Mordaunt’s current flurry of popularity. Voters believe he is out of touch with the ruling class at Westminster. Many have never heard of her, but they like her jib cut – and think she can be a breath of fresh air,” added Mr Dorrell. “Whether that would last if he became Prime Minister, and was in the news every day, is another thing.”
