Today’s You Gov poll in the Telegraph tells a similiar story to the ComRes poll from a few days ago – that the Tory lead has more than halved over the past few weeks, but they’re still 9 points clear of Labour. Here are the headline figures in full: the Tories are on 42 percent (no change from a YouGov poll two weeks ago); Labour on 33 percent (down 1); and the Lib Dems on 15 percent (up 1). The unchanged Tory position leads Political Betting’s Mike Smithson to deduce that the polls have reached a “new normality” – by which Cameron & Co would achieve only a “bare majority”.
Labour may find this encouraging enough – while perhaps also being a little disappointed that they haven’t made larger gains after both Yachtgate and the Economic Saviour coverage that Brown’s been getting. But the fact remains that there are still plenty of blots on the horizon, which could undermine any gains they have recently made. The Tories, though, can’t – and shouldn’t – wait for the political tide to turn against the Government. If Cameron and Osborne are to fully capitalise on any weakening in Brown’s position, then they need to set out a coherent plan for how they would deal with the downturn. The Shadow Chancellor gives it a shot today in his speech to the London School of Economics. More on that later.
Comments