Polls show collapsing Lib Dem support
By politics.co.uk staff
Two polls released today showed the Liberal Democrats slipping back to just 16%, seven points worse than their general election result.
Research by ICM for the Sunday Telegraph and YouGov for the Sunday Times saw the junior partners in the coalition government pushed into a firm third place, as Conservative support improved.
The Tories stood on 41% and 43% respectively, with Labour improving somewhat to reach 35% and 35%.
Many Liberal Democrats are worried their leadership’s decision to enter into a formal coalition agreement could damage the party’s sense of identity.
Today’s poll results, the worst for the party for 18 months, appear to underline that concern.
Nick Clegg has forecast the coalition will be ‘unpopular’ as it implements its spending cuts agenda, but the sustained strong support for the Conservatives appears to be undermining his argument.
The emergency Budget appears to have boosted, rather than undermined, the popularity of chancellor George Osborne. His approval ratings jumped from 39% to 53%.
