Boris Johnson is distrusted as a source of guidance on Covid by almost six out of 10 Britons (59 per cent) - more than distrust information from social media - according to a new poll.
And almost three in 10 (28 per cent) said that they are less likely to follow Covid rules as a result of reports of Christmas parties at 10 Downing Street - including 37 per cent of the younger 18-34 age groups who are most likely to cram into pubs and clubs to party in the next few crucial weeks.
The Savanta survey for The Independent was published as the nation waited to see if Mr Johnson will order fresh curbs over the festive period, after cabinet rejected scientific advice for swift action to stop the Omicron variant overwhelming the NHS.
It found that many Britons are acting before being told to by the government.
One in 10 (10 per cent) said they have already cancelled their plans for Christmas Day and a further quarter (25 per cent) say they have scaled them back because of concerns about Omicron.
Recommended Cabinet having ‘robust’ argument about Covid curbs, admits minister First Minister to update Scotland on Covid rules as Omicron cases remain high Darts fans chant ‘Stand up if you hate Boris’
And it showed significant levels of appetite for far tougher restrictions than the government has so far imposed.
Some 50 per cent of the 2,096 people questioned said they would back a two-week “circuit-breaker” lockdown of the type backed by prominent scientists, against just 26 per cent opposed. Opinion on a total stay-at-home lockdown of indefinite duration was split 38-38 per cent for and against.
And 65 per cent said they would support vaccine passports - with no option to show evidence of a recent negative test - for entry to crowded venues, 70 per cent favour compulsory face-coverings in all indoor public spaces and 55 per cent mandatory working from home except for key workers.
Some 55 per cent said they would back a ban on indoors gatherings of people from different households, with just 27 per cent opposed. But opinion was more evenly divided on schools, with 37 per supporting closure and 35 per cent saying they should stay open.
The scale of damage done to the prime minister’s credibility on Covid by a series of revelations about lockdown-breaching parties and after-work drinks at Downing Street was laid brutally bare by the survey.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent
PA
UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election
PA
UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire
PA
UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle
PA
UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool
PA
UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds
PA
UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds,
PA
UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judge’s decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
PA
UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service
PA
UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine
PA
UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow
PA
UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra
Getty
UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother
PA
UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square
Reuters
UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Getty
UK news in pictures 1 December 2021 Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar
PA
UK news in pictures 30 November 2021 Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week
PA
UK news in pictures 29 November 2021 Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana
Getty
UK news in pictures 28 November 2021 Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow
Manchester City/Getty
UK news in pictures 27 November 2021 Residents clear branches from a fallen tree in Birkenhead, north west England as “Storm Arwen” triggered a rare “red weather” warning
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 An aerial picture shows a worker using a quad bike and trailer to transport freshly harvested trees at Pimms Christmas Tree farm in Matfield, southeast England
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures 26 November 2021 A shopper browses Christmas trees for sale at Pines and Needles in Dulwich, London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 25 November 2021 A murmuration of hundreds of thousands of starlings fly over a field at dusk in Cumbria, close to the Scottish border
PA
UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 24 November 2021 Migrants are helped ashore from a RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat at a beach in Dungeness, on the south-east coast of England, on November 24, 2021, after being rescued while crossing the English Channel.
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 23 November 2021 The coffin of Sir David Amess is carried past politicians, including former Prime Ministers Sir John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the requiem mass for the MP at Westminster Cathedral, central London
PA
UK news in pictures 22 November 2021 The scene in Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset where police have launched a murder probe after two people were found dead
Tom Wren/SWNS
UK news in pictures 21 November 2021 London-based midwife Sarah Muggleton, 27, takes part in a 'March with Midwives' in central London to highlight the crisis in maternity services
PA
UK news in pictures 20 November 2021 Police officers monitor as climate change activists sit down and block traffic during a protest action in solidarity with activists from the Insulate Britain group who received prison terms for blocking roads, on Lambeth Bridge in central London
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 19 November 2021 A giant installation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson made from recycled clothing goes on display at Manchester Central, as part of Manchester Art Fair, in a 'wake-up call for the Prime Minister to tackle textile waste'
PA
UK news in pictures 18 November 2021 The scene at a recycling centre in Stert, near Devizes in Wiltshire after a large blaze was brought under control. The fire broke out on Wednesday night the fire service has said and local residents were advised to keep windows and doors shut due to large amounts of smoke
PA
UK news in pictures 17 November 2021 The sun rises over South Shields Lighthouse, on the North East coast of England
PA
UK news in pictures 16 November 2021 ancer Maithili Vijayakumar at the launch of 2021 Diwali celebrations at St Andrew Square in Edinburgh
PA
UK news in pictures 15 November 2021 Forensic officers work outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, following a car blast, in Liverpool
Reuters
UK news in pictures 14 November 2021 Wreaths by the Cenotaph after the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London
PA
UK news in pictures 13 November 2021 Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks. Ratcliffe has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London without food. He began his demonstration on 24 October after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was “caught in a dispute between two states”
PA
UK news in pictures 12 November 2021 Peter Green protesting outside the Cop26 gates during the official final day of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.
PA
UK news in pictures 11 November 2021 Seagulls fly around the statue entitled 'Tommy', a first World War soldier by artist Ray Lonsdale at dawn in Seaham, Britain
Reuters
UK news in pictures 10 November 2021 Climate activists dressed as characters inspired by the Netflix series “Squid Game” protest as they ask Samsung to go 100% renewable energy, outside the venue for COP26 in Glasgow
Reuters
UK news in pictures 9 November 2021 A deer statue silhouetted at Loch Faskally in Pitlochry, Scotland
Reuters
UK news in pictures 8 November 2021 Sunrise over St Mary's Lighthouse at Whitley Bay on the North East coast of England
PA
UK news in pictures 7 November 2021 Activists from Friends of the Earth during a demonstration calling for an end to all new oil and gas projects in the North Sea outside the UK Government's Cop26 hub during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow
PA
UK news in pictures 6 November 2021 Protesters take part in a rally organised by the Cop26 Coalition in Glasgow demanding global climate justice
PA
UK news in pictures 5 November 2021 Final touches are made to a life sized Sir David Attenborough cake surrounded by animals as part of a display created by a group of cake artists during Cake International at NEC Birmingham
PA
UK news in pictures 4 November 2021 A spectacular display of the Northern Lights seen over Derwentwater, near Keswick in the Lake District
PA
UK news in pictures 3 November 2021 Police and demonstrators at a Extinction Rebellion protest on Buchanan Street, during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow
PA
UK news in pictures 2 November 2021 A person walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire
PA
In a week when darts and football fans were filmed singing scornful chants about the PM, some 40 per cent of those questioned by Savanta said they distrust Mr Johnson “a lot” as a source for guidance on how to respond to the Omicron variant, and 20 per cent distrust him “somewhat”.
Just 9 per cent - fewer than one in 10 of those questioned - said they trusted the PM “a lot” and 21 per cent trusted him “somewhat”.
Mr Johnson’s credibility score was worse than that for “people on your social media feed”, who were distrusted “a lot” by 21 per cent and “somewhat” by 24 per cent, but trusted “somewhat” by 23 per cent and “a lot” by 7 per cent.
By comparison, 56 per cent said they trust chief medical officer Chris Whitty, against 25 per cent who distrust him. The figures for scientists generally were 71 per cent trust and 19 per cent distrust and for politicians generally 24 per cent trust and 64 per cent distrust.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was trusted by 42 per cent and distrusted by 40 per cent - of whom 19 per cent distrusted him “a lot”.
Most trusted for advice on Covid were friends and family (77 per cent trust and 12 per cent distrust).
There were indications that a substantial proportion of Britons are uncertain what they should do.
Despite 18 months of advice from scientists, medics and politicians, almost one in five (19 per cent) said they were less confident than in previous waves that they knew how best to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Hospitality industry fears about the financial catastrophe facing pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, even without new restrictions, were borne out by the survey.
Just 43 per cent of those questioned expect to go ahead with festive plans for New Year’s Eve, with 19 per cent scaling them back and 18 per cent dropping celebrations altogether.
And one-third (33 per cent) said they had dialled down festivities and 14 per cent written them off altogether in the run-up to Christmas Day, a financially crucial period for venues hosting office parties and friends’ nights out, as well as theatres and shows. Just 42 per cent said they were partying as planned pre-Christmas.
Chillingly, there was little sign that Britons see much light on the horizon, despite the successful rollout of three waves of vaccinations and boosters.
Some 23 per cent said they expected disruption to their lives from Covid to be worse in 2022 than 2021 - 8 per cent significantly worse and 15 per cent slightly - and a further 46 per cent said they believed next year would be about the same as this year.
Recommended Lockdown party probe could cover No 10 garden gathering – follow live Scientists condemn ‘staggering’ government inaction on Omicron variant - follow live How do Covid restrictions compare across the UK?
Only 21 per cent were expecting a lower level of disruption in 2022, including just 5 per cent who think next year’s Covid situation will be significantly better than it has been this year.
？ Savanta questioned 2,096 adults in Britain from 17-19 December.