Tories lose momentum over Labour
The Conservatives have once again lost sight of government, according to the latest poll.
The Tories’ lead over Labour has narrowed to three points after it appeared to lose momentum over the past month.
In a Populus poll for the Times, support for the Conservatives dropped three points, leaving David Cameron on 37 per cent – below the crucial election-winning benchmark.
Support for Labour has risen three points, although the effect of Gordon Brown’s “fight-back” appears limited with the party now on 34 per cent.
Although more than two-thirds of the public say they are disappointed with the government the opposition has failed to present itself as an appealing alternative.
Some 45 per cent of voters say they want a Labour government after a fall of two per cent. Backing for a Tory government has increased by three per cent over the past quarter but still falls short at 39 per cent.
Support for the Liberal Democrats has climbed two points to 19 per cent, although the separate leadership ratings suggest this cannot be attributed to new leader Nick Clegg.
Over the past three months, Mr Clegg’s approval rating has dropped from 4.4 to 4.16, while Liberal Democrat voters have also deserted their leader, with support falling 6.5 to 5.63.
The prime minister’s personal rating has changed little since the beginning of the year, standing at 4.59 overall and 6.72 among Labour voters.
Mr Cameron remains the most popular leader with a rating of 5.23, up from 5.07 last quarter.
The poll, taken over the weekend, suggests the row over the EU treaty has not harmed the parties.
The possible exception is the Lib Dems, with only 15 per cent of supporters backing Mr Clegg’s position of “principled abstention”.
Voters themselves seem unclear about the issues, with an even-split (37 per cent) when asked whether the Lisbon treaty is the EU constitution repackaged. Twenty-six per cent say they do not know.
But seven in ten still want some sort of referendum. The majority (36 per cent) want a vote on both the Lisbon treaty and the UK’s future in the EU while 18 per cent want a referendum on the treaty and 16 per cent on the EU’s future.
Professionals and Labour voters are most likely to agree with the government that a referendum is unnecessary, with 28 per cent opposing a public vote.
