Voters look to the Tories as the credit crunch bites
Peter Hoskin 12:57pm
Another encouraging poll for Team Cameron today. The latest ICM / Sunday Telegraph poll puts the Tories on 43 percent (up 6 from last month); Labour on 32 percent (unchanged); and the Lib Dems on 18 percent (down 3).
Below the headline figures, there's some suggestion that the credit crunch is starting to hit people in the pocket. Around 22 percent of voters have had to cut back their personal spending “a lot” over the past year, whilst 37 percent have done so “a little”. The worry is that things will only get worse. Our latest cover story paints a bleak picture for home-owners. And – thanks to Gordon Brown – lower-paid workers will today start paying twice as much tax on their income.
The Government has washed its hands of the credit crunch generation. If the Tories can convince voters that they're the party which cares, then they'll further cement their advantage. On this front, another of the poll's findings may give Cameron & Osborne food for thought. Some 23 percent of voters said they'd be more likely to vote Tory if the party pledged to cut both public spending and taxes. Only 8 percent said they'd be less likely. Will the former figure be larger (and the latter figure smaller) in a few month's time?
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Scary
April 6th, 2008 4:43pm Report this commentQuite the most startling news during the last week has been left wing world leaders dining (at my involuntary expense) and cheering and laughing when the Chilean leader said the sub prime problem was 'poetic justice'. I think the poetic justice will be when people like this are not just out of power but without the money they have corruptly extorted from the people they were supposed to be representing.
Slim Jim
April 6th, 2008 4:57pm Report this commentI think the May local elections will inform us if this is really the beginning of the end. Apart from the polls, the other hopeful sign is that previously loyal establishment figures, and the MSM are now speaking out - music to our ears! Have faith!
Faceless Bureaucrat
April 6th, 2008 5:06pm Report this commentEven allowing for the fact that the provenance of this Poll is effectively the Sunday Telegraph (and as such will be dismissed by NuLab as partisan and irrelevant) the trend is undeniable and Cameron is beginning to pull off the consistency in polling results that everyone knows he must maintain if the resurgent Conservative Party is to position itself as a serious contender for government in 2010. You are correct in highlighting the comments about public spending - the days of ever higher injections of taxpayers cash into unreformed public bodies translating into votes are long gone. Cameron and Osborne should take heed of this electoral sea change as a matter of urgency...
Brook Whelan
April 6th, 2008 6:09pm Report this commentThe revelation that Gordon Brown in his final budget as Chancellor in March 2007 pushed forward a proposal to take more tax from lower-paid workers is astonishing.
Not only did this come from a Labour government, but also as recently as a few days ago, sources from the Government were giving misleading statements to their own MPs about whether they would abort these proposals.
As far as tax and spending is concerned, the public mood is very different now from what it was in 2001 and 2005. There is a much more widely held view in 2008 that our taxes should be lower and that this government has wasted our money.
Jessica
April 6th, 2008 9:40pm Report this commentI seen Cameron on Sunday with Adam Boulton this morning and thought he was excellent. He was strong and showed he has a grip of the issues he needs to step up media appearances along with the rest of the shadow cabinet.
Simon Orr
April 7th, 2008 12:17pm Report this commentHow many of the 23% have a tory preference already? If none then it is a significant result.
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