Can EdM make inroads into the Lib Dem base?
| Which leader “best understands your family’s financial position?†| All voters | CON voters | LAB voters | LD voters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Cameron | 29 | 68 | 9 | 11 |
| Ed Miliband | 24 | 2 | 64 | 16 |
| Nick Clegg | 15 | 14 | 6 | 48 |
Why have the numbers of general election switchers stalled?
The above is taken from the latest ICM poll and shows the party splits to an ICM question that we see from time to time – “Putting aside your own party preference, which one of the following party leaders do you think best understands you and your family’s financial situation?”
Inevitably respondents tend to go with their own allegiance though Labour might be concerned that nearly one in ten of its voters went for David Cameron compared with the one in fifty Tories who said Ed Miliband.
The split I find interesting is amongst the Lib Dems – where Ed Miliband is doing quite a bit better than David Cameron. Clegg is picking up just under half his party’s support. That might point to progress in the future for the reds.
It must be central to the new leader’s strategy to try to eat into the Lib Dem base and the voting intention data shows that Labour’s inroads here have stalled. The proportion of general election Lib Dem voters saying they have switched to Labour has remained the same, at 17%, in every ICM survey since July.