Ed Miliband’s poll ratings are going from bad to disastrous at the moment. Last week his YouGov approval rating dropped to its worst ever, with just 20 per cent of respondents saying he’s doing a good job, and 66 per cent saying he’s doing a bad one. And today they slip even further. Again 20 per cent say he’s doing ‘well’, but now 69 per cent say ‘badly’:
And, most worryingly for the Labour leader, the number of Labour voters giving him the thumbs down (49 per cent) now outnumbers those giving him the thumps up (46 per cent). That’s compared to the 95 per cent of Tories who think Cameron’s doing well, and the 72 per cent of Lib Dems for Clegg.
YouGov also try to find out whether it’s Miliband’s policies or his personality that are putting voters off. The answer seems to be ‘both’, but more personality than policies. In total, 70 per cent say he ‘does not look or sound like a possible Prime Minister’, while 11 per cent say he does. Meanwhile, 47 per cent say ‘his policies are wrong’, against 34 per cent who think ‘he has the right policies’. Labour voters are, naturally, more approving of his policies (75 per cent think he has the right ones), but still 70 per cent of them think he lacks prime ministerial qualities.
But who would people prefer as Labour leader? Ominously for Miliband, it’s his brother who comes out clearly on top. Asked who’d make the best Labour leader, 21 per cent say the David Miliband, including 34 per cent of Labour supporters. He’s followed by Alistair Darling (9 per cent), then Eds Miliband (7) and Balls (6). Interestingly, Yvette Cooper — the bookies’ favourite to take the reins — gets just 4 per cent (and 5 per cent among Labour voters), although that’s likely due to her being less well known than the others.
Which is to say, David Miliband may have lost out in the poll that counted a year-and-a-half ago — but he’s exerting indirect pressure on his brother via the opinion polls now.
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