Swinson and Farage should now be included in polling “best PM” ratings alongside Johnson and Corbyn
Latest surveys are clear – the binary CON-LAB choice much less applicable
Given that UK politics has changed dramatically in the last three months to reflect a four party choice surely the time has come to to include in the options the newly elected leader of the Lib Dems, Jo Swinson and the Brexit party leader for life Nigel Farage in “Best PM” polling.
Simply sticking to the old CON-LAB leader format is not providing interesting information that could help us judge what’s happening.
Situations can be envisaged when any one of these four could be in a position to become Prime Minister.
The cross-breaks in such polling move was adopted could be extremely revealing. How many current CON and LAB supporters would opt for Nigel Farage as the best prime minister? It might be a lot of higher than we think. And Jo Swinson could be attracting some Remainer Tories as well as quite a number of Labour voters who currently are reluctant to say they will back Corbyn.
Polling needs to keep up with the times to reflect the new four main party environment.
I have approached the main firms that have regular “Best PM” ratings – Ipsos MORI, Opinium and YouGov suggesting a change. Hopefully we might see something soon.
Mike Smithson