Boris Johnson’s reputation among Conservative members has plunged to a record low, it has emerged, as the party enters its annual conference facing accusations of a “chumocracy” at the top of government.

With Tory MPs restless over the government’s performance, which has seen it lose a huge poll lead over Labour since the start of the pandemic, the prime minister has recorded his first ever negative satisfaction rating among a survey of Tory members on the ConservativeHome website. He recorded the second-lowest score of any cabinet member, with only education secretary Gavin Williamson performing worse.

The prime minister will attempt to use the virtual party conference this week to try to relaunch his premiership by looking to the programme he wants to pursue beyond the Covid crisis, which has dominated his time in Downing Street.

It comes as his performance has been tested again during a series of regional television interviews, in which he appeared to forget key facts about his hospital spending programme and struggled to explain how residents across the north of England should regard the local Covid 19 restrictions they face.

Asked how much hospital investment would come to Leeds during an interview with BBC Yorkshire’s Look North, Johnson scrambled for notes on the floor and asked aides for the figure before apologising for not having it to hand.