Latest polls show Campbell suffering
The Liberal Democrats took another step backwards today following the publication of a new poll revealing the unpopularity of Menzies Campbell.
The 68-year-old’s popularity was gauged in Labour and Liberal Democrat marginal seats; those which the Conservatives would have needed to win if Gordon Brown had called a snap election.
The Crosby Textor poll revealed only seven per cent of voters saw Mr Campbell as their preferred prime minister after the conference season had closed.
Only five per cent gave him strong leadership ratings, while just 25 per cent of Lib Dem supporters placed him as their top choice for Downing Street.
The analysis handed 13 Lib Dem seats to the Tories – including that of former leadership contender Chris Huhne.
In the main Labour-Conservative confrontation, the Battleground Britain poll handed the election squarely to Mr Brown’s party.
It found that the Conservatives would not have snatched any of Labour’s key vulnerable seats, suggesting Mr Brown could have maintained a majority similar to the 66-seat advantage he currently holds in the House of Commons.
Despite David Cameron enjoying a strong boost from his conference speech, only one in four voters said he would make the best prime minister. Mr Brown maintained strong leadership ratings, on 42 per cent.
The Tories have made some progress, however. On the party with the strongest policies before and after the conference season, Labour’s 14-point lead was reduced to just three.
