Poll: David Miliband 'best placed to beat Cameron'
Friday, 3 September 2010 12:00 AM
by Peter Wozniak
David Miliband is the potential Labour leader viewed as the most effective prime ministerial candidate, a YouGov poll has suggested.
According to the poll, over twice as many people believe that the shadow foreign secretary is the 'most effective alternative to David Cameron', than Ed Miliband, his brother.
Excluding those respondents who responded 'don't know' or 'none of the above', 47% saw David Miliband as the best-placed challenger to the prime minister, while the shadow climate change secretary only garnered 19%.
Ed Balls, Diane Abbott and Andy Burnham lagged behind on 13%, 11% and ten per cent respectively.
David Miliband will welcome the poll as a boost to his campaign in the final stages of the election, particularly as he had most support of the candidates among the critical group of Labour voters that have abandoned the party since 2005.
The prime minister is understood to view the shadow foreign secretary as the most significant threat to the Conservatives electorally.
It is a view apparently shared by former prime minister Tony Blair, who in an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr left little to the imagination when asked which candidate he would support.
The poll, of 2,097 people, supports the argument that David Miliband has, of all the candidates, the most widespread support amongst the greater electorate.
He will bear in mind, however, that it is support among Labour party members and unionists which will play the decisive role in this leadership contest, which looks set to be a closer battle between the two siblings than this poll would suggest.
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