Polls back to Tory-dominant normal
Tuesday, 20 October 2009 5:25 PM
The Conservatives have restored their sizeable pre-conference lead over Labour, the latest poll from Ipsos-Mori suggests.
Its October political monitor put the Conservatives up seven points on 43 per cent. Labour also gained, up two to 26 per cent.
The Liberal Democrats slipped from 25 per cent to 19 per cent - but as last month's poll took place immediately after their party conference in Bournemouth the slip in support is unsurprising.
Both Gordon Brown and David Cameron improved their net satisfaction ratings in the last month, although the prime minister remains far more unpopular. His net satisfaction score was -30, up six points on September, while Mr Cameron was up nine points to +15.
Despite the slip from 25 to 19 per cent for the party as a whole, Nick Clegg's satisfaction rating remained the highest of all on +17. But he slipped four points after last month's score in the wake of his conference speech.
In an unexpected twist Ipsos Mori's economic optimism monitor reached its highest standing since May 1997.
Forty-four per cent thought the economy would improve over the next 12 months, compared to 23 per cent who thought it would deteriorate further, giving the index a rating of +21.
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