Labour drops sharply in new South West poll
Are we seeing the return of tactical voting
The latest poll of voting intentions in the South West of England is just out and has good news for the Lib Dems and UKIP but bad news for Labour.
As can be seen from the chart Labour are down from 28% two months ago to 21% now though this is still six points up on what they did in the region at the general election.
The Tories, meanwhile, are down 2 points on the June survey and are three points off what they achieved at the election.
Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems, for whom this region is particularly important, see a jump of five points on June but their 21% share is still a long way behind the 35% that they got there at the election.
In many parts of the region the traditional option for those who want to vote against the Tories has been the Lib Dems and it looks as though we might be seeing a return to tactical voting.
The direction of travel for the three main parties is in line with what we’ve seen in national polls. the last ICM survey, in July, had the yellows up four nationally from 12 to 16 points. Labour have been slipping from their previous highs and the Tories are barely moving.