Do the debates mean these numbers are more important?

Do the debates mean these numbers are more important?

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Q. “Is Brown/Cameron/Clegg doing well-badly as PM/CON leader/LD leader ……” 36-58% WELL:BADLY – BROWN 50-39% WELL:BADLY – CAMERON 42-28% WELL:BADLY – CLEGG Is this one of the consequences of the focus on the leaders? One of the strange features of British politics generally and this election build-up in particular is that almost nobody ever mentions the leader approval ratings. Unlike many other countries they are seen as not being irrelevant, the number of polls asking regular questions is declining and…

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The gap closes a bit in the first post-Ashcroft poll

The gap closes a bit in the first post-Ashcroft poll

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CON 38% (39) LAB 33% (32) LD 16%(17) But it’s all within the margin of error With the TV bulletins throughout yesterday dominated by the Michael Ashcroft admission about his non-dom tax-status you might have thought that the Tories could have taken a bigger hit than they did in tonight’s YouGov daily poll for the Sun. For fieldwork began at 5pm yesterday evening and continued until five hours ago. Apart from that there’s not much else to note – the…

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So the debates are happening

So the debates are happening

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Will these dominate everything? Much to my surprise, I must admit, agreement has been reached on the TV debates which will, surely, become the defining moments in the campaign. The terms seem a lot less restrictive than I was expecting and ICM is going to play a key role in selecting the audiences. In the end it won’t be how the three perform – but the perceptions that viewers get about their characters and personalities. So in the 2008 White…

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Welcome Peter Kellner

Welcome Peter Kellner

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YouGov Lots of questions about weightings Peter, Thank you very much for being the third pollster to take part in an online discussion on PB. You follow Bob Worcester and your former YouGov colleague who is now at Angus Reid, Andy Morris. Q.There’ve been quite a few issues raised on the previous threads about your party ID weightings and the apparent difficulty you seem to have getting enough in the Labour category to take part. The result is, as can…

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Are the currency markets Cameron’s secret weapon?

Are the currency markets Cameron’s secret weapon?

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Should you be betting against a hung parliament? Several of the front pages highlight the reaction on the currency markets to the suggestions that the coming election might produce an inconclusive outcome. With the nation voting in the most difficult financial circumstances the idea that Britain’s plight could be made worse if no party gets an overall majority seems like a pretty potent message to me. Just imagine the reaction if it dominated the closing days of the campaign. This…

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Will this relieve some of the Tory jitters?

Will this relieve some of the Tory jitters?

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CON 39% (37) LAB 32% (35) LD 17%(17) Is it down to positive media coverage This morning I suggested that this might be the day to start buying the Tories again simply because they were back in the news after a period when issues involving Labour and Mr. Brown were dominating everything. My view was that there seems to be an element in polls of up to 4% which appeared to be directly related to who had been most on…

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