Tory lead dwindling
Monday, 20 October 2008 6:06 PM
A series of polls over the weekend have put the Tory lead in single figures, as the party continues to struggle to find a narrative for the economic downturn.
A ComRes poll for the Independent of Sunday gave the Tories a nine per cent lead.
Labour rose four points from last month to 31 per cent. Conservatives rose one point to 40 per cent while the Liberal Democrats dropped five points to 16 per cent.
An ICM poll for the News of the World showed 43 per cent of voters trusted Gordon Brown on the economy, while only 35 per cent trusted David Cameron.
A Mail on Sunday poll showed over 50 per cent of voters believed Mr Brown had handled the crisis well, with only 35 per cent saying Mr Cameron had handled it well.
If a general election were called on the issue of the economy, respondents gave the Tories 45 per cent and Labour 39 per cent, but if economic issues are removed from the calculations Tory support rises one per cent to 46 per cent and Labour support plummets to 30 per cent.
Similar trends could be found in the other polls.
The ICM poll asked respondents whether Mr Brown's economic performance would convince them to vote Labour. Only 13 per cent said yes.
Only 37 per cent of respondents to the ComRes poll believed Labour's handling of the economy would help it win the next election. Fifty-four per cent disagreed.
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