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22 December 2009

A lukewarm electorate

The latest polls show voter disillusionment, and support for the Tories coming mainly from the rich

By Samira Shackle

It’s easy to spin numbers: pick and choose the figures and, bang, you have a news story from the latest poll.

But the overwhelming picture from the polls we have seen over the past few days (and weeks) is that the general public is not particularly enthused about either party. An Ipsos/MORI poll for the Observer at the weekend put the Conservatives on 43 per cent and Labour on 26 per cent (“Tory surge defeats Labour comeback!!!” — exclamation marks my own), while a ComRes poll for the Independent today shows the Tories with 38 per cent and Labour with 29 (“Tories are a party for the rich, say voters“).

Although the UK Polling Report suggests that the 17-point spike (also shown in a ComRes poll a few weeks ago) was an anomaly, all we can tell with any certainty is that it’s a close call. Voters are hard to predict in these politically disillusioned times.

Toby Helm and Marina Watson Peláez in the Observer said:

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Many MPs believe the volatility in the polls is evidence that voters are no longer loyal to any one party. When the economic news appears good, voters are less inclined to think ill of the government of the day, but when things look rough they take against it.

This is supported by today’s ComRes poll in the Independent, which shows yet more rumbling evidence that we could be on course for a hung parliament, which my colleague Mehdi blogged about early this month. If the figures in the poll were repeated at a general election, the Tories would be five seats short of an overall majority.

The poll contains some interesting details. As its headline suggests, a majority of people agreed with the statement that “a Conservative government would mainly represent the interests of the well-off rather than ordinary people” by a margin of 52 to 44.

A majority of 49 per cent disagreed that “the Conservative Party offers an appealing alternative to the Labour Party”, while 45 per cent agreed.

These are very fine margins. It shows, certainly, that the Tories have not succeeded in their mission to rebrand themselves as the progressive party of the centre, but it also displays a lack of true conviction either way on the part of voters.

More tellingly, perhaps, the poll showed that the only social group among which the Tories enjoy a clear lead is the top AB group, where they are sailing ahead by 20 points. In all other groups, the two parties are neck-and-neck. So, the only group of whose support the Tories can be sure is their core coterie anyway. It demonstrates once again — if it needed demonstrating — who stands to gain from a Conservative government.

Perhaps we don’t need to worry that the politicians are starting a class war — we’re on to it ourselves.

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