Blair’s popularity up despite Iraq and Hutton
The Prime Minister and the Government seem to have brushed aside the bad press from the War in Iraq and the Hutton Inquiry in the latest popularity survey from The Times newspaper.
The Government and Tony Blair will see this as a boost ahead of a difficult week with the return of Parliament and the start of the TUC conference in Brighton.
The Populus survey for The Times found that Labour’s support has hit 39%, up five points from August. The survey is bad news for Conservatives as it shows that they have failed to make an impact on the Government’s popularity despite what is seen as Tony Blair’s most difficult period.
The poll shows that Mr Blair’s leadership rating has risen above 5 again out of a scale of one to ten. Mr Blair is now at 5.14, up from 4.92 in early August, and back around the level of late winter.
Conservatives have seen their share rise two percentage points to 34%, its highest rating this year. However, this is well below what is expected of an opposition party mid-term of a second Parliament.
Iain Duncan Smith’s leadership rating has fallen slightly for the first time in a survey this year. He is now on 4.25, down slightly from 4.35 in August, making him the least popular leader among voters.
The fall in Mr Duncan Smith’s popularity and the failure of his party to make inroads against the Government during a difficult time may spark further disquiet amongst the party.
The Liberal Democrats have seen their party’s popularity fall 6% in the last month to stand at 19%, the lowest rating for 18 months. However, the Liberal Democrats support has been the most volatile of all three parties.
The survey suggests that support for the Liberal Democrats at 19% may be understated as much as the 25% support recorded in July was overstated. However, support for Charles Kennedy has continued to recover from its early summer decline and, at 5.04, is only slightly below its peak recorded in February.
