Which is most to blame for the cuts? (YouGov)	CON-LD coalition %	Last Labour government %	Both of them %	Neither %	Don’t know %
25 March 2011	25	42	21	6	5
21 March 2011	23	38	26	7	5
07 March 2011	27	40	22	6	5
21 February 2011	25	41	24	5	5
07 February 2011	25	38	26	6	5
25 January 2011	26	40	24	5	6
20/01/2011 Ed Balls becomes shadow chancellor
10 January 2011	22	40	25	8	5
11 December 2010	23	41	24	7	5
15 November 2010	22	43	23	7	5
07 October 2010	17	47	20	10	5
20 September 2010	21	44	22	7	6
06 September 2010	22	45	20	6	7
31 August 2010	23	45	20	6	6
16 August 2010	22	45	21	6	7
02 August 2010	22	45	20	6	7
19 July 2010	21	48	19	7	5
05 July 2010	21	44	21	8	7
23 June 2010	18	49	18	9	6

Do Ed and Edward need a different approach?

Given that over the past 72 hours almost every media interview with a coalition minister has involved the same rhetoric about what the incoming government inherited it’s inevitable, I suppose that the latest “Who’s to blame for the cuts” polling shows a sharpish move back to Labour.

The latest YouGov numbers in this key tracker are just out and show that once again the last Labour government is being blamed by more than four in ten. The 42% figure is the highest since the start of December and represents a big challenge for the red team.

If an incoming government, like Blair’s in 1997, can shape the narrative about “the last lot” that can stick for a decade or even more then Labour needs to attend to this skilfully and quickly.

Ed and Edward need to find a convincing response that resonates. So far I don’t think they’ve been able to do that.

I regard this tracker, which we see from both YouGov and MORI, as one of the best pointers to the next election.

Mike Smithson