CONFUSION over Tory social care policy has damaged Theresa May, according to voters in the South East.

A new survey has found 48.1 per cent of respondents in the region believe the announcement of the Conservative plan to make people use all but £100,000 of their assets to pay for social care followed by the clarification that the total amount paid would be capped has damaged Mrs May's ability to lead a 'strong and stable' government.

This compares to 28.6 per cent of voters who said the quick change in policy has not caused damage and 23.4 per cent who said they don't know.

Those who said they are planning to vote Conservative were the most likely to say there was no damage, 61 per cent of those surveyed in the region, while 74 per cent of those planning to vote Labour said Mrs May had suffered a blow.

While Mrs May, whose party still leads in virtually every national opinion poll, came under fire for the policy during TV debates last week, her rival for Number 10 also faced a series of difficult questions.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was repeatedly asked if he would fire nuclear weapons if Britain was under attack, after ruling out "first use" of them, during Friday night's TV debate.

People in the South East also appear to support charges for those who use A&E unnecessarily or miss GP appointments, with Conservative voters particularly keen.

The study, run in partnership with Google Surveys, was completed online by nearly 8,300 people across Britain.