There has, as we all know, always been a fug of doubt about Ed Miliband’s leadership.
Even when Labour have been winning by-elections (as they’re expected to in Feltham and Heston tomorrow), even when even when they have fluttered ten points above the Tories, the question has always
been there: would they be better off without him? After all, in terms of poll numbers, the party has generally exceeded
the man.
But today that question is wrapped in flashing, coloured lights, with a star on top. It’s not just how David Cameron filleted Miliband in PMQs earlier, but more Labour’s position in the latest opinion polls. As others have pointed out, every pollster now has the Tories basically level with Labour, or ahead of them. For Ipsos MORI, the Tories have jumped seven points into a two point lead. For YouGov, it’s also a two-point lead — and so on. You can slap all the health warnings across these polls that you like — they may just be a blip; they may, theoretically, have nothing to do with Cameron’s break from Brussels; we’re still years away from a general election, etc, etc — but they will still add heat to the simmering idea that Labour aren’t doing as well as they might, or should.
And still Miliband sags behind his party. Whether it is in website surveys of Labour supporters, or polls conducted by the professionals, his ratings are weaker than those for his party — and considerably weaker than David Cameron’s. Take YouGov’s tracker of party leader ratings. The proportion of people who think that Cameron is doing a good job currently stands at 42 per cent; for Miliband it’s 27 per cent. Net approval of of Cameron stands at minus 10 per cent; for Miliband it’s minus 32 per cent. And a pretty similar story is told everywhere else.
There is some Christmas cheer for Miliband, though: Labour don’t have a blood-stained track record when it comes to knifing their leaders. But I’m sure some of the party’s MPs will start thinking about it, even just as an idle fancy, as the winter frost sets in.
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