Poll: Labour draws level amidst unease over cuts
By Peter Wozniak
Conservative support has fallen to bring the party level with Labour as more people express worry over the impact of spending cuts, a YouGov poll has shown.
The poll is the first from YouGov to show the two largest parties level, and the first to see the Conservatives dip below the symbolically significant mark of 40% since the coalition was formed, with Labour and the Tories both now sitting on 39%.
The Liberal Democrats will find little to cheer in the poll, as they received no boost from the exposure of their Autumn conference, trailing on 13%, broadly consistent with recent polling. It suggests that Lib Dem support has stabilised, though at a very disappointing level for the party.
Labour will be delighted with the results, as they are still performing well even without a leader, and can expect some boost following their own conference this weekend.
The change in YouGov’s daily poll is more symbolic than significant, though the Conservatives will be concerned that they are seeing a slight drop in support even before the impending spending review is published.
People’s attitude to the cuts has changed markedly since the formation of the coalition, with 43% now believing that they will be bad for the economy, up from 28% when the Budget was released. More than half said that the cuts are being enacted unfairly.
The narrative of the government has so far been to place responsibility for the spending cuts largely at the feet of Labour, and the coalition will take solace in the fact that the poll respondents seem to agree, with 44% blaming Labour the most compared to just 21% blaming the current government.
However, this line of attack may become less effective as the cuts become political reality after the spending review on October 20th, when both governing parties can expect a dip in popularity.
