Poll finds voters want Prescott out
The majority of voters and of Labour supporters believe John Prescott should resign from his job or be sacked, a new poll finds.
The Populus survey for The Times reveals 70 per cent of the public and 59 per cent of Labour voters believe the deputy prime minister should leave his job immediately.
It comes after the Conservatives asked the parliamentary standards commissioner, Philip Mawer, to look into whether Mr Prescott declared a number of expensive gifts given to him by an American billionaire during a trip to his Colorado ranch last summer.
Sir Philip is already looking into why the visit to Philip Anschutz’s home was not declared on the register of MPs’ interests until this month. The Tories now want to know whether tax was paid on the cowboy boots, hat and belt Mr Prescott received while he was there.
The deputy prime minister met Mr Anschutz seven times between August 2002 and last summer, prompting concerns about a possible conflict of interest. The American’s company is hoping to turn the dome in east London into Britain’s first super-casino.
For almost a third of voters in today’s poll, this row is enough to warrant Mr Prescott’s resignation. Only 23 per cent of the public, and 37 per cent of Labour voters, believe his insistence that he has done nothing wrong.
Meanwhile, the survey shows the prime minister is also struggling to maintain popular support, with 62 per cent of voters saying he should quit in the next 18 months.
The percentage wanting Mr Blair to stay on after next year has fallen from 34 to 24 per cent since January, while the proportion wanting him to go this year has gone up from 41 per cent to 49 per cent over the same period.
His leader rating now stands at 4.21 out of ten, compared to 5.33 in January, compared to Conservative leader David Cameron’s rating of 4.98 out of ten. Among Labour voters, Mr Blair’s rating is just 6.56, although this is higher than for the other leaders among their own supporters.
If there was a general election tomorrow, 36 per cent of people would vote Conservative, down one per cent from last month, and an unchanged 34 per cent would back Labour. The Liberal Democrats have moved up one point to 19 per cent of support.
