Lib Dems “the real opposition”
A new poll for The Independent newspaper has found more voters now view the Liberal Democrats as the real opposition to the Government.
The NOP found nearly half of voters could not recall the name of Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith.
Astonishingly, 28 per cent of Tory supporters were unaware that Duncan Smith led their party, despite his two years at the helm.
The NOP poll showed 41 per cent of voters considered the Liberal Democrats, under Charles Kennedy, the real opposition to Labour. The Tories received a 39 per cent backing.
Two per cent of respondents believed William Hague was still the Tory leader.
The poll comes as the Conservative Party conference gets underway in Blackpool.
The newspapers were filled this weekend with suggestions that a poor performance this week by Duncan Smith will all but secure a premature end to his reign.
The Tories hope to offer a credible challenge to Labour with a new pensions policy, pledging to raise the maintenance threshold by £7 a week.
The Tories say policies on elected police chiefs and greater customer choice in the NHS were clear vote winners.
Indeed “quiet” man Duncan Smith was urged this weekend by his deputy David Davies to beef up his game if he is take on the Government and win over disgruntled delegates.
To compound matters, there was little cheer for the beleaguered leader in a new YouGov/Sky News poll. 57 per cent of voters said Duncan Smith was the wrong person to lead the Conservative Party.
But instant replacements Michael Howard, Michael Portillo and Kenneth Clarke fared little better. Most voters said replacing Duncan Smith with one of the three would make no difference at all.
