Tories back up to forty percent with ICM

Anoneumouse

95% of people I have polled reckon polls over the past 30 years have been useless.

Lets cut the crap and have a genuine vote

Anan

And I'm sure the next poll from ICM will show a paltry 1 point gap, for reasons known only to the pollsters. Take all this with a pinch of salt, and be prepared for the coming "reversal".

It's psychological warfare at its worst. The semi-fossilized trilobite tories that inhabit this forum should not fall for it.

hadrian

It seems the broadcsat media, allowing their anti-Tory, humanistic. egalitarian bias to show through, were determined to undermine the Tories with the 'Cashcroft' affair as much as possible. It was an all out onslaught. Coupled with Jon Snow's rather sickening sycophancy towards silly old Michael Foot, it was clear a socialist leaning agenda was afoot ( forgive the pun!) However more flogging of scandals merely has the effect of boring most ordinary folks and I suspected the polls might not show a sustained Tory lead collapse.
If folk think the Tories on tax is somehow inequitable it is vital they hammer home the need for enterprise to be unshackled from grinding State taxation and thedire consequences for all if debt keeps being run up and business incestment chased off or given no incentive.

annassasin

This may not be the end; nor the beginning of the end; it may be the beginning of the end for gordon. (sorry for the crude paraphrasing Mr Churchill, also the mere mention of gordon within one of your quotes). Someone put Lord Ashcroft in the broom cupboard till after May6. Nb. taxing is still a weak spot according to the poll. Must do better.

Gary Williams

Of course the audience for the debates, or at least for the first one, will be huge. How could anyone imagine otherwise?
You've got an enigmatic, volatile Prime Minister against a telegenic kid who may or may not have the right stuff, plus a Lib-Dem thrown in for light relief, engaging in the first debate of its kind in the history of a nation that loves disputation, at a time of crisis and confusion.
"Experts" are unsure whether the British people will be interested?

Tim W

I'm not interested in celebrating the poll rating (another poll may be much worse) but what I think has at least begun to get the Conservatives over their recent disasters has been much more clarity. Starting to put things into layman's terms has begun to make things easier. Combined with that it seems that the politicians in the Shadow Cabinet have a bit more fight in their belly and Cameron is putting a bit more expression and passion into what he's saying than he was before. It all seems to have started since that Shadow Cabinet meeting the other week.
The key thing now is to not change the message. Half the country still haven't heard the message (e.g. the 6 themes and the choicey changey thingy). Keep repeating it all until polling day. Remember there is no pressure to come up with something new every week. Look at Labour - they're like a broken record.

But the Ashcroft thing seems to have helped too like the bullying thing did to Labour.

Also I love the line: 'Better government costs less with the Conservatives.'
That changes the debate from Brown's rhetoric on 'harmful cuts' by the Tories and is overall more positive on a tricky election issue.

I'd still be wary about the Tories' chances though. It could easily go wrong.

strapworld

This does not help Cameron. He needs to do something quickly about the team behind him.

He has to show leadership. He has then to tell the Country just what his vision is.

Hiding from the press, as he did in llandudno, is no leader. They obviously wanted to ask him about Ashcroft. This was a golden opportunity to stand up for Ashcroft. He fluffed it.

I am sorry to be so negative but never have I witnessed such an abject display of cowardice. No wonder the press are against him.

Surely others are worried that we are in real danger of having another wet lettuce in Downing Street?

Time for him to hand over if he cannot or will not fight dirty!

Kinglear

I suspect the first half hour of the first one will have a reasonable audience....

Tim W

In addition to what I said before and having seen the figures:
The fact that the Conservatives are rating highest on Education, the NHS and dealing with the recession, shows that the strategy pursued by the Cameroons over the past 5 years can't have been that bad. These are important issues and traditionally Labour has held the advantage on public services.
But the reason I'm personally wary of these polls is that the headline voting intention figures come from just over 600 people. There are nearly just 600 seats in the country!

Chuck Unsworth

And Labour's stealth tax regime for the past decade needs to be spelled out in full.

Neil Turner

Just watched "Mr Smith goes to Washington"

A timely reminder that we can't trust the media to play it straight when it comes to politics

I suggest that there are a lot out there who hate this government, and will vote accordingly

Opinion polls should be taken with a pinch of salt

paulg

labour are gone no government in history have come back from what they have had to endure. The polls mean nothing, there is only one poll that counts and, it will be delivered on polling day.
If any labour supporter think different you are fooling yourself!
Your down, your out and, you will be kicked out by the british people.

JONNY

Your comments as usual way way over the top strapworld.
Don't be such a Petainiste. Show some guts and back the Leader.
I still say he'll win - and win with style.

Holly ......

Hiding from the press in Llandudno?
Funny.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news,but Brown
knocked Ashcroft off the news ALL BY HIMSELF, with his constant habit of saying things he thinks will cover his arse,only to be found out later it's untrue.Then he panics and starts talking cr@p!
£18m for this £100m for that..where is the money coming from? The 'spending spree'was to take the headline off the lies from the previous day.
Are there people back here at home smashing their heads against the wall because this bozo keeps making ridiculous spending pledges without costing them or consulting anyone,it just happened to sound good in an interview.
How many of the '30%' will feel comfortable that Brown has cost troops their lives,and then Brown blames the military! that THEY did things wrong...the man is a complete backward.
We can not continue to finance things as they are without Brown shooting his stupid mouth off.
Cameron's team needs nothing 'doing to it'.
Compared to the low life chumps that work alongside Brown. Cameron's team are a breath of fresh air.

TomTOm

Only one Poll counts and it is getting tedious waiting for it !

Tilak

Losing to Gordon Brown's Labour party will be an astounding achievement, even for the frivolous boy scouts of Bullingdon fame. The electorate may be incapable of understanding the nitty gritty of policy debate especially when politicians are convinced that impenetrable coda and confusion best serve their interests, much like the 'chaos pricing' of supermarkets. Both of which defeat the poor punter and make a mockery of market principles and an informed democracy. But the electorate is much more astute at sensing duplicity and incoherence. And the Tory boy scouts, sans principle and consistency, as Melanie Phillips frequently highlights in her Spectator column, are quite unable to fathom that the electorate is in grim mood, ready for the punishment that awaits, but resentful at the bullshit being dished out by politicians more concerned about their expenses than the dire problems that threaten to derail this benighted country.

stephen

Why are'nt the Tories trusted on tax? IMHO its Boy George who like a stupid child has stuck to his idea of rasing the IHT threshold to help only millionaires. Depite prompting from Ken Clarke the boy has stuck to his "great idea" which clearly identifies the Tories with the super rich! It's a pity its probably now too late to dump the Boy or put him into a portfolio where he can't do too much damage

John David Barnett

The IHT proposals would NOT help ONLY millionaires. They would help all with estates of between the present threshold and the new one of £1 million.

To me this seems quite an easy point to grasp. Why do so many find it so hard?

Marcher Baron

Considering that there are rumours that imposing VAT on food is being considered to help bridge the financial gap, I should have thought that Labour would have been least trusted on tax! Gordon has brought picking our pockets to a fine art since 1997, but he's struck rock bottom if he's toying with taxing non-discretionary spending like food essentials!

Salopian

Nobody, but nobody seems to ask the simple question

Does Cameron actually want to win this election. Picture the alternative

Darling has an "election winning" budget - but knows that if they win there'll have to be a real budget pretty soon after the election.
Labour are the largest party but are still short of an overall majority
So they form a government and they have to have a swingeing budget.

NOW watch what happens..... where does Clegg go? Does he support the budget and thus shoots his chances at the inevitable 2nd election.

As for Cameron - he sits back watches Brown having to do the dirty work .....

The significant thing is that Brown won't name Darling as his post-election Chancellor. Which is pretty extraordinary don't you think. When did you last see an election when you didn't have a clue who would be the incoming Chancellor.

What does it mean? Could it be that Darling has told him he doesn't want the job - OR could it be that Darling DOES want THE job - Brown's !! ?