Politics.co.uk poll shows groundswell of Tory support
Friday, 8 August 2008 5:03 PM
Public support for the Conservatives shows no signs of letting up today as a new politics.co.uk poll shows a sustained lead for David Cameron above any Labour figure.
Sixty-five per cent of politics.co.uk users said they want David Cameron to take over from Gordon Brown, well over that for all other candidates combined.
Only ten per cent of users said they wanted David Miliband to take charge, suggesting the foreign secretary's semi-covert leadership attempt may not pay the electoral dividends some in the party had hoped.
Most popular among Labour figures is Jack Straw, who gathered 15 per cent of the vote. Alan Johnson received the same level of support as Mr Miliband, at ten per cent.
There was little good news for Gordon Brown. The vast majority of users called for the prime minister to stand down before the party conference in late September, when his allies are hoping he will make the speech of his life.
But 40 per cent of respondents said he should remain leader of the party until the next general election, almost certainly in 2010.
The politics.co.uk poll confirms many of the trends analysts have been observing since Labour's drubbing by the Scottish National party (SNP) in Glasgow East.
Despite convulsions of instability in the party and a seemingly endless stream of anonymous briefings to the press from various government figures, there is very little to indicate Mr Miliband would fare any better than Mr Brown if he was leader.
Despite an impressive analysis of Labour's strengths and the Conservative's weaknesses in his now-legendary Guardian article, it seem most voters are tired of Labour as party - not just Gordon Brown as a leader.
The signs for Mr Cameron bear out recent opinion polls showing a sustained level of support for the Tory leader. Last month's polls would give him a huge majority in government if they were replicated at a general election.
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