Party conferences are among the few political events that can have a direct effect on the polls (most voters usually aren’t paying attention) and it looks like Labour has alread benefited from its time in Brighton.
The latest YouGov poll shows that the party’s lead has risen from five points to nine, with Labour up two to 41%, the Tories down two to 32%, UKIP unchanged on 11% and the Lib Dems down two to 8%. Significantly, nearly half of the fieldwork took place before Ed Miliband’s speech and its accompanying pledge to freeze energy prices until 2017, suggesting that the party could enjoy a further bounce in today’s survey.
Another poll by YouGov found that voters view energy prices as the greatest threat to the economy, ranking them ahead of unemployment, benefit levels, inflation, interest rates and income taxes. A report due to be published by the pollster next week, entitled Utilities – Tariffs and Loyalty, found that 83% of UK customers believe that “energy suppliers maximise profits at the expense of customers”, with only 2% disagreeing. In addition, 56% agree that “energy companies treat people with contempt”, with only 7% disagreeing.
There’s also some good news for Miliband. The number viewing him as the best potential prime minister has risen from 21% at the start of September to 26%, although Cameron retains a commanding lead of nine points.
It’s common for poll ratings to fluctuate more than the usual during the conference season and the real test will be whether Labour can maintain its lead into next week. If the Conservative conference ends with Miliband’s party ahead, some Tories will begin to worry that the Labour leader’s “populism” is proving, well, popular.
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