Two thirds of Britons think the country is in a state of crisis - and a majority want an immediate general election when a new prime minister is in place, according to a Sky Data poll.

Theresa May's resignation fired the starting gun for the contest to become the next leader of the Conservative Party - and prime minister.

When a new PM is in office, some 54% think there should be an immediate general election. Some 36% think there should not, with 11% unsure.

Some 65% of the public think the UK is now in crisis, with 27% saying it is not and 8% unsure.

That is an increase even on the number who thought the country was in crisis when Sky Data last asked the question.


When asked previously, it was immediately following the first parliamentary defeat of Mrs May's Brexit deal - the largest government defeat in the history of British democracy.

The proportion thinking the UK is in crisis is up four percentage points from then - up from 61% to 65% - with seven points fewer saying it is not, down from 34% to 27%.

With Mrs May announcing she will step down as prime minister, the vast majority of the public think the country has become more divided over the last few years she has presided over.

Three in four Britons (73%) think the UK public has become more divided over the last few years, with 10% saying we have become more united - 6% say there has been no change, and 10% are unsure.

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Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 999 Sky customers by SMS on 24 May 2019. Data are weighted to the profile of the population. Sky Data is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.