Fresh polling (£) from The Times and YouGov today says that the Tories still have much work to do to convince voters that they will directly benefit from an improving national economy. The good news for the Conservatives is that confidence in the economy is up. Nearly a third of those polled think that they will be ‘satisfied’ with the economy this time next year. This is a eleven-point jump from the last time the question was asked in June — and a steady trend upwards over the last year:
But only 16 per cent think that their personal finances will get better over the next 12 months. On pay, 58 per cent of those working full-time and part time (more than eight hours a week) believe their pay will go up by less than inflation, or go down. Only 18 per cent expect to spend more on major household purchases — computers, appliances, home furnishings — in the next 12 months. Not exactly a positive picture, even though perceptions on household finances are slowly rising:
Based on these figures, Labour has the potential to weave a strong narrative about economic recovery bypassing ordinary people. As James said in his Mail on Sunday column yesterday, Miliband is going to open a new front over the cost of living in the coming weeks, while he attempts to wrestle the initiative back from the Tories, who have been setting the agenda of the late. If they don’t have a comprehensive rebuttal to rising energy prices, train fares and fuel prices (a few of the pressures on the cost of living) Miliband has the potential to reverse his summer of discontent.
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