Rishi Sunak has been accused of misleading the public after a “PM survey” asking voters probing questions, including who they backed at the last election, proved to be a marketing ploy by the Conservative party
With a general election expected next year, households are being sent a survey giving voters the opportunities to “share your views with the Prime Minister”.
But the small print says the information will be used by the Tory party for campaigning, rather than by the government to improve the country.
The leaflets, branded potentially misleading and “routine party propaganda”, asks who voters backed at the last election and who they would prefer as prime minister – Sunak or Starmer.
It is delivered alongside a letter headed “Rishi Sunak Prime Minister”, which twice asks: “What are your priorities for Britain? Tell the prime minister”.
Sir Alistair Graham, the former chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said the survey “has the potential to mislead people that it has come directly from the prime minister.
“It is being unfair to the electorate really and is rather cheeky in that it sounds to me like routine party propaganda”.
The Liberal Democrats accused Mr Sunak of “desperate stuff”.
“No doubt some people will think they are speaking to the prime minister, not Conservative Party headquarters,” Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney said.
“This is desperate stuff from a prime minister on his way out. Using the prime ministerial office name to try win back angry voters is not going to change a thing. The small print makes clear what this is, a last ditch attempt for the Conservative party to cling onto power, and nobody is buying it.”
People are encouraged to return the questionnaire in a pre-paid envelope headed “PM survey”.
In his letter Mr Sunak also tells those who fill out it out that “my team will go through every single response”. The questions do include asking people to set out some of their priorities, including on the economy.
But they are also asked how they voted at the last election – and the one before that. Households are also asked how likely they would be to vote Tory at the next election, which could be called in a matter of months – on a scale of 0 to 10.
And they are asked, putting politics aside who as a person who would they prefer as prime minister – Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak or unsure?
The Conservatives declined to comment but it is understood that the party views the survey as standard campaign material.
No 10 has been approached for comment.
