The Premier is losing the confidence of the electorate, according to the latest opinion polls.

An independent survey for The Royal Gazette has revealed that support for Dr. Ewart Brown has fallen, with dissatisfaction particularly prominent among women voters.

The polls showed 45.4 percent of voters approve of the way Dr. Brown is handling his job as Premier. Two months ago this stood at 57.4 percent.

Those who disapprove stand at 34.3 percent, with 20.2 percent undecided.

While 54.5 percent of men approve of the Premier, only 37.6 percent of women rate him. Among female voters, 42.7 percent are dissatisfied with Dr. Brown, compared with 24.6 percent of male voters.

Among white voters, only 16.9 percent are happy with the Premier — 60.8 percent disapprove of him. Dissatisfaction is also prominent among the older generation, with 52.8 percent of over-55s not impressed by the Premier. Only 24.5 percent approve of Dr. Brown.

Support for the Premier has also fallen among black voters. In March, 73.8 percent had an overall favourable opinion but the latest polls show this has fallen to 68.8 percent.

The overall opinion of Dr. Brown among the general population is 48.4 percent favourable — down from 61.4 percent in March. Those with an unfavourable reaction are 34.3 percent — compared to 24.3 percent in March.

Among male voters, 59.9 percent like Dr. Brown, 23 percent have an unfavourable impression. Women, however, have a different outlook, with 44 percent having an unfavourable impression and only 38.5 percent in favour.

Among white voters, opinions were fairly evenly split two months ago but now, 62.3 percent disapprove of Dr. Brown. In March this stood at 42 percent while 47.3 percent voiced approval.

The figures indicate that support has also dropped among the younger generation, with 48.6 percent of 18-35-year-olds in favour of Dr. Brown compared to 75 percent two months ago.

On the other side of the political spectrum, impressions of new UBP leader Michael Dunkley are more evenly split, with no strong feelings among a large proportion of the electorate.

Asked for their overall opinion, 33.7 percent said it was favourable; 34.2 percent unfavourable; with 32 percent undecided. Men and women were evenly divided in their opinions, with 34.8 percent of men in favour of Mr. Dunkley and 39 percent not, while 32.9 percent of women had a favourable reaction and 30.1 percent did not.

Young people were more unsure about Mr. Dunkley, with 68.9 percent of 18-35-year-olds ‘not sure’ of their overall opinion of him.

Mr. Dunkley also needs to court the middle-aged population, as 48.4 percent of 36-54-year-olds have an unfavourable overall opinion of him compared to 37.7 percent in favour.

Among the black vote, 47.1 percent had an unfavourable impression and 20.8 percent was favourable. His support among whites was 67.2 percent in favour and 8.6 percent not.

In March, support for the last UBP leader, Wayne Furbert, was higher among the general electorate, with 37.9 percent in favour.

Both parties declined to comment last night.

The Research Innovations Poll surveyed 405 people between May 20-22 and has a margin of error of 4.9 percent.