“Labour’s rating rose from 26 per cent before the party conference season to 31 per cent after its gathering in Manchester in September. 
An incisive article on recent opinion polls in today’s Independent:
But its overall level of support did not climb any higher after the banks bailout last month, said John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, who looked at the results of nine surveys.
The weighted average of the polls taken in October shows the Tories on 43 per cent (down one percentage point on September), Labour on 31 per cent (up four points), the Liberal Democrats on 16 per cent (down one point) and other parties 10 per cent (down two points). These figures would give David Cameron a majority of 62 at a general election.
‘The mood of new-found optimism that seems to have enveloped the party at Westminster in recent weeks certainly seems to be out of proportion to the scale of Labour’s recovery,’ said Professor Curtice.
‘Labour has simply moved from being in dire trouble to being in deep trouble. But Labour’s modest revival has certainly not done the Liberal Democrats any good; their poll rating is back down towards the bottom of its usual range.'”The worry for Team Brown is that the coverage, and the poll ratings, of the past few weeks are as good as it gets. A loss in Glenrothes in a few days time – coupled with continued economic turmoil, among other threats – and Labour’s limited gains may soon be eroded.
Comments