Which is most to blame for the cuts? (YouGov)	CON-LD coalition %	Last Labour government %	Both %	Neither %	Don’t know %
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
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

Is the “It’s Labour’s fault” rhetoric getting tired?

The overnight daily poll had Labour with an 11 percent lead which according to the YouGov’s deputy head of political polling, Anthony Wells on his UKPR site is the biggest lead that the red team has enjoyed since the election.

In fact you’ve got to go back to the end of September 2007, when the firm polled for the Daily Telegraph, to find the last occasion when Labour last had a margin of this scale and we all know what happened thereafter.

For me the key tracker and one of the best indicators is the table featured above – YouGov’s standard question to those on its polling panel over who is most to blame for the cuts. As can be seen this week’s survey found the proportion blaming the coalition at its highest level since last May’s general election.

There is a gap in the government’s favour but it is getting narrower.

The issue here, of course, is that while polling on individual measures generally produces negatives the overall “balance of blame” has remained solidly with Labour – but that could start to change.

That could be dangerous for ministers – because one of their solid defences whenever cuts are attacked is to try to remind voters about the last Labour government.

Clearly the reaction to this month’s budget could set the political weather for the coming weeks and the May 5th round of elections.

Mike Smithson