3 in 4 Britons say Privileges Committee investigation into Boris Johnson is justified

• More generally, half of Britons think Boris Johnson treated fairly by journalists / his own MPs.
• However, half of 2019 Conservative voters feel Johnson unfairly treated by journalists. 2 in 5 think his own MPs treated him unfairly.

New research by Ipsos in the UK shows that three in four Britons believe the Privilege’s Committee’s investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled parliament over “partygate” allegations is justified. Three-quarters (76%) say the investigation is definitely/somewhat justified while around 1 in 5 (18%) disagree.

Even among those who voted Conservative in 2019, almost two-thirds (64%) believe the investigation is deserved while 3 in 10 (31%) do not.

When asked if Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer have been treated fairly by journalists in their respective roles as Prime Minister and Labour leader, half say the Prime Minister has been treated fairly (49%). And 28% say unfairly. 46% think Keir Starmer has been treated fairly and 19% say unfairly. However, 51% of those voting Conservative in 2019 believe Johnson has been treated unfairly (34% say fairly). For Starmer, the equivalent numbers are 30% unfairly and 41% fairly among 2019 Labour voters.

When considering treatment by MPs from their own party, 50% of the public overall think Johnson has been treated fairly by his own MPs (25% say unfairly). Conservative voters from 2019 are more split, with 41% thinking Conservative MPs treated Johnson fairly and 43% saying unfairly. For Starmer, overall 50% think he has been treated fairly by his own MPs and 13% say unfairly. Among Labour voters from 2019, 55% think he has been treated fairly and 15% unfairly.

When asked if they would trust various politicians to reduce the cost of living if they were Prime Minister, a majority of Britons are unlikely to trust Boris Johnson (56%), Liz Truss (56%) and Rishi Sunak (52%). Less than half say they would not trust Keir Starmer (45%). 47% say they would trust Starmer to manage the crisis, 42% would trust Rishi Sunak, 35% Liz Truss and 38% Boris Johnson.

Keiran Pedley, Director of Politics at Ipsos, said:

Overall, the public are much more likely to think Boris Johnson has been treated fairly by the media and his own MPs than think he has been treated unfairly, with an overwhelming majority of the public telling us they think the ongoing Commons privileges committee investigation into his conduct is justified. However, opinion among those voting Conservative in 2019 is much more divided with half of this group saying the media has treated him unfairly and approaching that saying the same of his own MPs. Time will tell if these divisions over Johnson’s treatment grow, or subside, as the new Prime Minister takes office this autumn.

Technical note
Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,001 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus on 17th-18th August 2022. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.