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Author: Mike Smithson

The polling’s clear – a switch to Johnson is NOT the answer for the Tories

The polling’s clear – a switch to Johnson is NOT the answer for the Tories

This morning Ipsos issued their January leader ratings and as can be seen in the chart above the numbers are not very good for Boris Johnson. There is one figure in British politics who attracts more negatives than Johnson, Corbyn, who is simply no longer relevant and I’m not even sure without checking whether he is still a member of the parliamentary Labour Party. Johnson attracts very significant negatives and this, I would suggest, rules out him returning to the…

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Brits remain pessimistic about where things are heading

Brits remain pessimistic about where things are heading

One of the regulars in R&K polling is this question about whether people are pessimistic or optimistic about where the country is heading. I have to admit that this is one of those poll findings that I tend to skip over because it doesn’t directly impact on electoral outcomes which is my main focus. But I do think that where we are at the moment with 53% saying they’re pessimistic and just 21% saying optimistic is not a good one…

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Just 42% of GE2019 CON voters now back Sunak’s party – YouGov

Just 42% of GE2019 CON voters now back Sunak’s party – YouGov

But only 11% have switched to LAB Of all the online posters nowadays one firm that stands out and that is YouGov which is effectively the pollster that invented it. One result is that their polling panel is larger than just about anybody else’s with very good records on what members of the panel said they did at previous general elections. This means that when the firm breaks down polling responses on past vote then it is probably more reliable…

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Sunak a net 10% behind Starmer in latest approval ratings

Sunak a net 10% behind Starmer in latest approval ratings

This looks like a small improvement for the PM and DeltaPoll’s figures are broadly in line with other firms. Given the very high proportion of CON GE2019 saying don’t know on voting intention this is probably a better measure of the current state of play than the voting polls. As I have been arguing the Tories are not as far behind as the voting intention numbers might suggest because of this factor. The challenge facing Sunak, though, remains huge and…

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Next election: LAB now a 75% betting chance to win most seats

Next election: LAB now a 75% betting chance to win most seats

The Smarkets chart above shows how the next general election most seats betting has been moving since the last contest. Undoubtedly this is driven by the polls and given that Labour continues to have very significant leads across the board then it is not surprising that punters are taking the view they are of the eventual outcome. I think the problem at the moment for the Tories is that Rishi Sunak has yet to build up significant support for himself…

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By generation how party support has shifted since GE2019

By generation how party support has shifted since GE2019

This very much highlights the challenge facing Sunak and his party – the Tories have lost most support amongst the age groups where traditionally they have been strong. What is also striking is that the Tory losses are substantially greater than the Labour gains which reflects what I have been noting for weeks – Starmer’s party has not been picking up enough of the GE2019 Tory vote. What is happening is that a large slab of the Tory decline is…

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Now a poll has the striking teachers getting public backing

Now a poll has the striking teachers getting public backing

Another rejection of Sunak and his government One of the features of the current wave of strikes in the public sector is that the public when polled are generally in support of those taking action. It was easy to see how the nurses could get backing but now the latest poll from YouGov finds support teachers and I find that more remarkable. In many ways this is a reflection of views of the government which has seen its ratings nosedive….

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