This has just appeared on the Press Association...
David Cameron has steered the Tories to a massive ten-point opinion poll lead in just six months at the helm of the party, a new opinion poll showed tonight. As he prepared to mark his half-year as leader on Tuesday, theIpsos/MORI survey for tomorrow's Sun put the party on 41% - up four points in a month and ten since he took over. Labour fell a point to 31%, giving the Conservatives their biggestlead in the poll since before John Major led the party to victory in the 1992 general election. The Sir Menzies Campbell-led Liberal Democrats slipped three to18%. The popularity of Mr Cameron's party coincided with a slump in Prime Minister Tony Blair's personal rating which slipped to -41,it's lowest ever. Only 26% of voters declared themselves "satisfied'' with the PM's leadership, with 67% dissatisfied. Labour supporters have been particularly unimpressed according to the survey, with satisfaction rates for Mr Blair halved since March,the paper said. Tory party chairman Francis Maude told the newspaper: "Under DavidCameron's leadership people seem more willing to give us a hearing. "One poll - or even a series of polls - isn't enough, but we willdraw encouragement from the findings.'' The poll was carried out between the May 25 - 30 and 1,984 people were spoken to.
It's nice to see Maude being by not taking stock in polls whichever way they go, rather than most politicians who decry them when they are bad and laud them when they are encouraging.
ReplyDeleteThat gives us the (unadjusted) lead of 42 seats on Baxter. Which isn't too shabby. And knocks out Ruth Kelly (yay...), Oaten, Matthew Taylor, Vince Cable, Huhne, Glenda Jackson and Barbara Follett.
ReplyDeleteCON 344
ReplyDeleteLAB 251
LIB 20
OTHER 31
CON Overall Majority of 42
Only thing I can't agree with from the Baxter analysis is I don't think we'll be able to wipe out the Lib Dems as easily as we think. As Iain demonstrated in North Nofolk, a Lib Dem once they get their hands on a seat is like a leech. So in all honesty a majority of 20 is probabaly more likely...
Am I odd, in that i actually quite like Ruth Kelly?
ReplyDeleteThoughts of self flagellation.............
At least RK could say she wanted to spend more time with her family and keep a straight face.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the figures would need to be to decapitate the odious Dennis MacShane? Meanwhile, I'll just drift into a reverie concerning the unspeakable Ballard losing Taunton in 2001.
Lovely jubbley!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure our friends at ConservativeHome will want to celebrate the good news. At 11.30pm, Tim is more interested in a certain Trollope.
Nice to see and encouraging, but I still wonder what the lead would be if the party were giving ZanuLabour more of a kicking over the almost daily scandals.
ReplyDeleteRM
Oh Iain, do you really trust that sort of stuff?
ReplyDeleteMid term blues for the incumbents and a surge for you that has done and offered nothing. Not vey trustworthy is it. You know it deep down in all honesty.
When push comes to shove Dave has got to slag off the NHS and schools and that will be like slagging off Chelsea sitting on top of the PL. It happens, but medals are then placed on the table for the serial critics to envy.
Gary
Gary
Only 20 Lib Dem seats? I'll take that any day...
ReplyDeleteAs has rightly been observed: "dream on".
What is more interesting in the Sun this morning is T.K turning his fire on Brown. It is clear that whilst GPW is prepared to write anything that Labour give him, TK is still prepared to question. I wonder who will have the greatest influence at the next election over which colour is emitted from the Sun's chimney??
ReplyDeleteThe BBC! Same as ever - two positive headlines on the politics section about Blair and Brown! The poll putting them way behind the tories mentioned at the end as a by the way! Unreal!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how long the lead will last now we're going to cut taxes and you aren't ...
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteOdd is putting it politely :-)
Now if we were discussing a six foot, Swedish blonde, then I might have cause to agree with you. But RK in leather wielding a whip? Nope, don't do nothing for me unless washing my brain out with Bushmills is what you meant.
RM
A perfect 10, it's great to be in double figures.
ReplyDeleteWell done Dave
ReplyDeleteGaining a 10 point lead over the Government and the best poll results since 1992 in only 6 months is very good for a Conservative leader since Maggie and let's hope we reach 50 or better by the end of the year.
David
Anonymous, above, said...
ReplyDelete"It is clear that whilst GPW is prepared to write anything that Labour give him, TK is still prepared to question. I wonder who will have the greatest influence at the next election over which colour is emitted from the Sun's chimney??"
Make no mistake - there is only one individual who will have any influence over The Sun's choice as regards who should govern Britain after the next GE - and he lives in New York City!