UK Poll: Conservatives open their 2nd largest lead since 1992 against Labour

[Scoop]

Guardian/ICM poll gives Tories 17-point post-conference lead

Political parties normally expect a modest post-conference bounce in the polls (because, if they are half-competent at PR, they can generally create a large quantity of mostly favourable media coverage) but the Conservatives will be delighted with the latest findings from the regular Guardian/ICM poll. It gives them a 17-point lead.

Here are the new figures, and how they compare to the previous Guardian/ICM polling figures from early September, before the conference season started.

Conservatives: 43% (up 2)

Labour: 26% (down 2)

Ukip: 11% (down 2)

Lib Dems: 8% (down 1)

Greens: 6% (up 2)

The fieldwork was carried out from Friday to Sunday.

The 17-point lead is the joint second highest ever recorded for the Conservatives by ICM in its polling series going back to 1992. They only once got a higher lead (20 points in June 2008, when Gordon Brown was at his most unpopular) although in September and October 2009 they also had a 17-point lead in ICM polls. But Labourdid have larger polling leads at various points in the Blair era.

At 26%, the Labour figure is only one point higher than their lowest rating in ICM polling - the 25% they hit in June 2008 and August 2009.

The Conservative conference was dominated by news about Theresa May hardening up her stance on Brexit and the ICM figures suggest this has gone down well with voters. Although the proposal to force firms to reveal what proportion of their workforce is foreign has now been dropped, following a backlash from business, a YouGov poll at the end of last week suggested voters backed the idea by two to one.

The Tories may also have benefited from the fall in the Ukip share of the vote. At 11% Ukip are on their lowest level in an ICM poll since the 2015 general election, and this may reflect the damage done to the party’s reputation by the fight in the European parliament on Thursday that left Steven Woolfe MEP hospitalised.

ICM Unlimited interviewed a representative online sample of 2,017 adults aged 18+ on 7-9th October 2016, and the data has been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

Brexit statement: David Davis rejects calls for MPs to vote on negotiating terms - Politics live

 

[Scoop]

Corbyn spokesman responds to grim Labour poll numbers
As Labour sinks in the polls, leadership blames ‘very public divisions.’

By
CHARLIE COOPER
10/10/16, 10:17 PM CET

Internal opposition to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the U.K. Labour party has harmed its standing with the public, the leader’s spokesman said in reaction to a new poll that showed grim numbers for the party.

Responding to the poll which put Labour at 26 percent – 17 points behind the ruling Conservative party – Corbyn’s official spokesman said that “very public divisions” in the party had had an impact on how the party is perceived.

“There’s no doubt that the effect of the events of the past few months on political polling has been significant,” the spokesman said, following a meeting of the party’s MPs in Westminster. “Everyone understands that if there are public divisions, that will depress Labour support. That’s one of the reasons it’s absolutely essential people work together. If we work together that gap can be closed,” he added.

The ICM/Guardian poll put Theresa May’s Conservatives at 43 per cent. Labour has only scored lower in an ICM poll twice before – in June 2008 and August 2009, during the financial crisis and the stormy premiership of Gordon Brown.

Better relations between the Labour leadership and its MPs in the future will be crucial if the party is to boost its standing, the spokesman suggested.

“To win two very large mandates in the way he has done shows something very significant has happened. The majority of Labour MPs recognize that,” he said. “It’s in the interests of all Labour MPs for the party to be effective and, for that, it’s necessary for people to work together, for us to end the sniping, the back-biting and the public attacks.”

• 
  

During Monday night’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, Corbyn paid tribute to Rosie Winterton, who he sacked as chief whip during last week’s Shadow Cabinet reshuffle. The move, in which Winterton was replaced by Nick Brown, who previously served as chief whip under Gordon Brown, was strongly opposed by many MPs who regarded Winterton as a mediator between the leadership and the party’s restive centrists.

Defending the decision, Corbyn’s spokesman said that Labour’s parliamentary operation needed a “reset” to reflect Corbyn’s victory in the summer’s leadership challenge – the second time he has secured a mandate from the party’s members.

However, he insisted that mediation between the leadership and MPs over the issue of Shadow Cabinet elections would continue. Many senior MPs have demanded that Corbyn introduce Shadow Cabinet elections and indicated they will not serve in Corbyn’s top team until he does. Currently, the leader appoints members of the Shadow Cabinet.

The party’s ruling National Executive Committee will decide whether to introduce changes at a special meeting in November.

Corbyn spokesman responds to grim Labour poll numbers

 

[TTT]

Man Labour is a comedic goldAny time I read about these guys someone is up to something. Corbyn was talking about using supporters to decide positions to take in parliament. There was that guy who waved Mao's red book in parliament and Livingstone talking about how Hitler is a Zionist and all the accusations about anti-semitism. Even some Labour Mps thought Theresa May is a better leader. The problem for them is that popularity within the party is not translating to the general public.

 

[FAH1223]

Man Labour is a comedic goldAny time I read about these guys someone is up to something. Corbyn was talking about using supporters to decide positions to take in parliament. There was that guy who waved Mao's red book in parliament and Livingstone talking about how Hitler is a Zionist and all the accusations about anti-semitism. Even some Labour Mps thought Theresa May is a better leader. The problem for them is that popularity within the party is not translating to the general public.

Those new Labour folks should just become Tories.

It's amazing how they hate Corbyn and want to destroy their party to see him fail.

 

[TTT]

Those new Labour folks should just become Tories.

It's amazing how they hate Corbyn and want to destroy their party to see him fail.

The New Labour people are the ones who took Labour out of 18 years in the political wilderness and held the Government for more than a decade. The general public only care so much about ideology up to a point where the party has to demonstrate competence which is what dogged Labour in the 70s.

 

[hashmander]

party purity rules.

 

[FAH1223]

The New Labour people are the ones who took Labour out of 18 years in the political wilderness and held the Government for more than a decade. The general public only care so much about ideology up to a point where the party has to demonstrate competence which is what dogged Labour in the 70s.

They been out of federal power for how long now though?

Corbyn is going to keep winning leadership

 

[Tate]

Two contentious leadership elections in less than 16 months will do that. Corbyn closed gap with Cameron, he'll close the gap with may

 

[CHL]

The Media Against Jeremy Corbyn | Jacobin

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