Tories double poll lead
The Conservatives are maintaining their strong lead in the polls as Gordon Brown struggles to shrug off his bad patch.
A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times gives the Tories a ten-point lead with 43 per cent, compared to Labour’s 33 per cent.
One-third of those surveyed said they trusted David Cameron and George Osborne to raise standards of living, compared to 28 per cent for Mr Brown and Alistair Darling.
And 47 per cent saw the Tory leader doing “fairly well” in his job, compared to 32 per cent for Mr Brown. More thought the prime minister was doing “fairly badly” in his, compared to 21 per cent for Mr Cameron.
Meanwhile an ICM poll for the Sunday Telegraph saw support slip for both main parties, maintaining a seven-point lead for the Conservatives.
The survey showed resounding support for David Cameron’s welfare reform proposals announced last week. Over four out of five said they believed those on unemployment benefit for more than two years should have to work or see their benefit withdrawn.
The Liberal Democrats appeared to have begun a minor recovery after disastrous ratings caused by the departure of Sir Menzies Campbell as leader. YouGov put them on 14 per cent while ICM gave them a four-point boost to 18 per cent.
Nick Clegg is struggling to make an impact as Sir Menzies’ successor, however. More thought he was doing fairly well than fairly badly in his new job, but 62 per cent fell into the “don’t know” category.
