Pharmacist's son Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is looking more like he’s been disinherited by his mother’s sector, as the second weekly C+D election tracker poll shows the Conservative Party slipping further into community pharmacy’s disfavour.
With all major parties yet to unveil their manifestos and plans for community pharmacy, C+D’s weekly polls will track how the pharmacy sector shifts its support in the weeks leading up to the July 4 ballot.
This week, just 10% of C+D’s readers would favour a Conservative government after the general election according to the LinkedIn poll that ran from June 3-5, down from 14% last week (May 31).
By contrast, most of the 328 respondents to C+D’s second snapshot poll would choose the Labour Party.
Keir Starmer’s party secured 41% of the vote, down two percentage points from 43% last week.
This week also saw political parties other than the Tories and Labour increase their share of support, rising to 19% of C+D readers from 16% last week.
Read more: C+D election tracker: How will pharmacy vote at the July 4 general election?
But those who remain undecided voters are a major force - now, 30% of respondents said that they don’t yet know who they will vote for next month.
The results are in stark contrast to 2015, when C+D’s pre-election poll showed the Conservatives nabbing 45% of our readers’ support.
This was followed by 29% who said they would vote for Labour, 13% for UKIP, 6% for the Liberal Democrats, 3% each for the SNP and Greens, and 1% for Plaid Cymru.
Election latest
C+D’s readers appear unmoved by health secretary Victoria Atkins’ pledge that Pharmacy First would be expanded to cover two more conditions if the Conservatives were re-elected.
Meanwhile, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) yesterday (June 6) “encouraged” community pharmacy contractors and local pharmaceutical committees (LPCs) to offer their local MPs and candidates “a pharmacy visit”.
And the election has put a pause on a sorely-needednew funding deal for community pharmacy.
Read more: No time to waste! Politicians ‘of all colours’ must expand Pharmacy First
This week, CPE confirmed to C+D that there would be no new contract until after the election and new ministers had been appointed. But despite the delay, CPE chief executive Janet Morrison said that discussions on the new one-year deal “can continue”.
The news came after the sector negotiator said it was “accelerating” core contract negotiations on May 23, the day after the July 4 election was called, “whether in the coming weeks or with the new government”.
Don’t forget to add your vote in C+D’s third weekly community pharmacy election tracker, which will be posted on our LinkedIn page on Monday (June 10).
