Tories prefer Cable to Osborne
By Jonathan Moore
Conservative voters find Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable more trustworthy than their own shadow chancellor George Osborne, according to a new poll.
In a new Populus poll for the Times published today, Dr Cable is not only rated higher among Lib Dems than their leader Nick Clegg, but also ranks higher among Tory voters than those of his own party.
The poll asked voters to rate 12 leading politicians on a scale of nought to 100 from totally mistrust to trust absolutely.
With a score of 52.8, Dr Cable topped the poll among all voters while Conservative leader David Cameron came second with a score of 50. There were no Labour figures in the top six.
Mr Cameron had a rating of 72.8 among his own party, the highest of anyone in any group, while Gordon Brown’s rating of 70.48 among Labour supporters was the second highest of any group, suggesting he retains support within his own party.
However, with a score of 38.5 Mr Brown is still unpopular with the general public and only just managed to beat Tony Blair, who scored 38.3 and was considered the most trustworthy Labour figure among Tory voters.
There was bad news for business secretary Peter Mandelson, though, who was rated just 50 among Labour voters, the lowest of any of the dozen with their own supporters.
Populus interviewed 1,506 adults aged over 18 by telephone between September 11 and 13. For more details go to www.populus.co.uk .
