Tories get poll boost at Labour’s expense
Public support for the Conservatives has continued to rise to the detriment of Labour, a new poll shows.
The YouGov survey for the Daily Telegraph finds David Cameron’s Tories are on 38 per cent of the vote – five points higher than in April.
By contrast, Labour has dropped three percentage points to 32 per cent, and the Liberal Democrats have fallen one point to 16 per cent.
The figures are consistent with other recent polls, and of particular concern for Tony Blair, as they confirm that he is beginning to lose the public in the key areas of education and transport.
An ICM poll for The Guardian on Tuesday revealed the Tories have taken a narrow lead on education and health, despite record investment since 1997.
And today’s survey finds Mr Cameron’s policies on general taxation, education, the environment, pensions and transport are all more attractive than Mr Blair’s – and he is only slightly behind on the NHS.
This is a marked change from 12 months ago, when the Tories were ahead on just three of the 14 most important issues – immigration, law and order and council tax.
Labour’s lead on the economy – a key political issue and an area on which the party has long been strong – has fallen to just three percentage points, compared to 22 at the last general election.
Weeks of bad headlines on NHS deficits and a crisis at the Home Office have also led to low confidence in the government as a whole, with 62 per cent saying they disapproved of the ministers’ record to date.
And on personal performance, Mr Blair is struggling to persuade voters he is the best man to lead Britain, recording an approval rating of just 28 per cent, compared to 27 per cent for Mr Cameron.
The Conservatives have clearly benefited from the election of a new leader, but the same cannot be said for the Lib Dems – just eight per cent backed Menzies Campbell as the next prime minister.
However, today’s figures suggest there may be a more widespread disillusionment with all three of the main political parties – 14 per cent of respondents said they would opt for a minority party.
Four per cent said they preferred the UK Independence party (Ukip), three per cent backed the Greens and the British National party (BNP) got four per cent, down three points on last month.
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