'Our politicians are not fit for purpose': Express & Star survey results revealed

The results came from an Express & Star survey which aimed to gauge the views of people in the region in the early stages of the general election campaign.

The poll of more than 2,000 readers saw Boris Johnson overwhelmingly backed to return to Number 10, with 68 per cent of people saying he was most fit to be Prime Minister, ahead of Jeremy Corbyn (18 per cent) and Jo Swinson (14 per cent).

• Express & Star comment: Loss of confidence brings dim view of politics

The general election campaign has finally sprung into life over the past few days after a start that had largely been dull.

After a televised leaders' debate that was as drab and listless as everyone expected it would be, the Labour manifesto launch in the West Midlands provided a much needed spark.

For some it is a manifesto of hope, while others see it as a blueprint for disaster that can't possibly be delivered without ramping up taxes on the very people Mr Corbyn says he is determined to help.

The release of a manifesto can be a key turning point in an election campaign, as Theresa May found to her cost in 2017.

It is a view that has been backed by the results of our survey, which saw nearly two thirds of readers (64 per cent) say manifestos were an important factor when they were deciding who to vote for.

Other parties have also issued their declarations. The Lib Dems want to stop Brexit so much that the words appear in big capital letters on the front of their manifesto.

Meanwhile Nigel Farage's Brexit Party have promised a "political revolution" underpinned by a clean break from all EU institutions.

Brexit, Brexit, Brexit

The Tory manifesto, released over the weekend, inevitably pledges to "get Brexit done" as one of its main priorities.

In our survey Brexit was declared as the most important issue of the election (64 per cent), ahead of the NHS, the economy and crime.

And there was short shrift given to Mr Corbyn's stance of thrashing out a new deal with the EU before putting it to the people in another referendum.

The majority of people (54 per cent) said they disagreed with it, while there were more people who did not understand it than there were who backed it.

Given those results, it was perhaps unsurprising to see that more than seven in 10 respondents said they were against a second referendum.

The Tories fared better on Brexit, with just over half (51 per cent) of people saying that Mr Johnson had done a good job in his handling of the issue since he took over from Theresa May.

The PM has repeatedly said that he did everything in his power to make good on his ‘do or die’ pledge to take Britain out of the EU on October 31, claiming that his efforts were hampered at every turn by Remainer MPs in Parliament.

Not everyone believes him, with nearly a third (31 per cent) of respondents to our survey saying he has made a mess of Brexit.

A narrow majority of readers (53 per cent to 47 per cent) said they thought that Brexit would be sorted out early next year.

More than nine in 10 people said they had already decided which way they will vote on December 12, while interestingly, one third of those who took part said they were considering voting for a different party than they did in the 2017 poll.

The majority of people (58 per cent) said they were optimistic about the future of Britain.