A trio of polls on Sunday underscored the damage done to the government by last week’s triple whammy of the Northern Rock crisis, data loss debacle and the five former defence chiefs’ attack on the prime minister. The terrible Westminster week endured by Labour appears to have hit home with voters, suggesting the Tories’ attack on Gordon Brown’s competence is resonating across the country.
The Tories are ahead of Labour in terms of the party deemed to have the best policies, for the first time in more than a decade, according to an MSL survey in the News of the World. The poll also gives David Cameron an eight point lead over Mr Brown in terms of who is seen as the best leader – a remarkable reversal of perceptions during the prime minister’s first three months in office.
Nervous Labour MPs in tight marginals who are now missing Tony Blair’s sure electoral touch will find this sense of nostalgia enhanced by a BPIX poll in the Mail on Sunday, suggesting the two parties would be level pegging had there been no change of prime minister. As it is, the survey gives the Tories a five point lead.
Northern Rock and the “debacle” of the lost data files – to quote Jack Straw, the justice secretary – have clearly damaged confidence in Alistair Darling. A survey for the Sunday Telegraph found 50 per cent dissatisfied with his performance as chancellor, with fewer than a third – 32 per cent – declaring themselves satisfied.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey
