Do Scottish leaders go down badly in England?

In what must be the first survey of its kind confined to one specific English region there’s striking news tonight of the different reactions voters have to the two Scottish party leaders and the English Tory one.

The survey from Marketing Means was carried out last week and involved contacting 1,008 people. The vote shares found were with changes on the General Election CON 41 (+3): LAB 22 (-1): LD 30 (-3)..

The most significant finding related to the responses to the question as to whether the (potential) new leader was more or less likely to persuade SW people to vote for their party. On this measure Cameron had a net positive effect of 11%; Campbell a net deficit of -9% and Brown a deficit of -13%.

In many mays the Brown figures are almost irrelevant because there are so few Labour held seats in the region. The only issue is if South West England is not alone and that other parts of the country south of the border would see a similar pattern.

For the Lib Dems, however, the poll is not good news because the region is one of their strongholds and the figures could indicate possible seat losses.

I’m hoping that the pollster’s Graham Dumper, who has been a regular contributor on PB.C, will be available this evening to answer any detailed points.

Mike Smithson