Tory lead down to five points
By politics.co.uk staff
The Conservative lead over Labour has been reduced to just five points, as the party prepares for its spring conference.
The Ipsos Mori poll for the Telegraph gave the Tories 37%, Labour 32% and the Lib Dems 19%.
It is further evidence that the recent bullying row swirling around Westminster all week has failed to damage Gordon Brown, whose unexpected resurgence has now been confirmed in various polls.
The poll was conducted too early to assess whether Alistair Darling’s unprecedented honesty in a Sky News interview this week will damage Labour’s standing however.
The Sun’s daily poll gave the Tories a six point lead, with David Cameron’s party on 39%, Labour on 33% and the Lib Dems on 16%.
There was more bad news for the Tories in a ComRes poll for the Daily Politics, which found only a third of voters know and like what the party stands for.
Twenty-eight per cent said they knew what the party stands for and like it, 36% say they know what the party stands for and do not like it, and 36% said they do not know what the party stands for.
Mr Cameron retains personal popularity though. Forty-one per cent said they were happy for him to become prime minister with a working majority, compared to 34% for Mr Brown.
The positive results for Mr Cameron himself are in line with previous polling.
But the Ipsos MORI poll is by far the most damaging assessment of the Conservative election campaign.
Senior Tory figures are understood to have met in Notting Hill this week to discuss the disintegration of the poll lead. Some officials are concerned the party does not have a clear, distinct message for the campaign.
If the poll were translated into a general election with a uniform swing no party would enjoy an overall majority but Mr Brown would win 19 more seats.
But analysts warn that the uniform swing approach does not recognise the strategic differences between the parties. The Tories have been pouring resources into marginal constituencies for several years now and are expected to perform strongly on the night of the general election.
The party gathers in Brighton for its spring conference this weekend with analysts watching Mr Cameron’s speech closely for signs the party is ready to claw back power after 13 years in the wilderness.
