Coronavirus tracked: Charts show how Dominic Cummings scandal changed the political landscape

Boris Johnson's approval ratings fell well below those of Labour leader Keir Starmer

Image: (Getty)

In the space of just four days, public opinion of both Boris Johnson and his government has plunged to the lowest they have ever been.

Revelations of a road trip made by key government adviser Dominic Cummings proved to be the catalyst for the collapse, which saw the prime minister's approval ratings fall by 20 per cent in just four days.

Data from polling group Savanta ComRes revealed that his ratings drop from 19 per cent on Friday to -1 per cent on Tuesday, while overall government approval also turned negative to -2 per cent - a drop of 16 points in just a single day.

The monthly drop for Mr Johnson is even more severe, having polled at 27 per cent on 26 April.

In that same time period, Labour leader Keir Starmer's approval rating has been relatively stable, rising from 10 per cent on 26 April to 12 per cent on 25 May.

A similar downward trajectory can be seen for Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who publicly backed Mr Cummings over the weekend.

Mr Johnson's drop in public approval is all the more dramatic when compared to figures from early April, when his rating was more than 30 points higher than Sir Keir's.

A separate poll conducted by YouGov on Tuesday revealed that the majority of people think Mr Cummings should resign from his position as adviser to the Prime Minister.

Of the 1,160 British adults surveyed, 71 per cent said they thought the Prime Minister's top aide disregarded the government's lockdown guidelines, while 59 per cent said they thought he should resign.

This figure was up by seven per cent from a similar poll conducted on Saturday, when only 52 per cent of the public said they thought he should quit.

The latest poll came after Mr Cummings took the unusual decision to hold a press conference to explain his actions.

Among the revelations was his reason for breaking self-isolation to drive 30 minutes to a beauty spot, which he said was necessary to test his eyesight.