Labour hit by spin fallout
A new Populus poll for The Times has found the economy remains a beacon of light for New Labour, aiding to the party’s buoyancy in a sea of political troubles marked by public disquiet with No 10’s “spin culture.”
The broadsheet’s pre-party conference poll, undertaken on September 11 to 14, found the public increasing distrustful of Labour’s spin tactics.
A reversion to past Labour polices would be politically disastrous, the poll found.
23 per cent of the interviewees regarded Labour as “honest and principled” but two thirds (69 per cent) agreed that New Labour was just about “spin and presentation”.
Among Labour voters, half (49 per cent) agreed with the statement.
Ditching spin would be a politically advantageous for Labour, the poll found, as half of all voters (51 per cent) said they would be more likely to vote for the Blair administration if it abandoned “the culture of spin” and adopted a more “honest” relationship with voters.
Labour was called upon to implement real improvements in the NHS.
Populus interviewed a random sample of 1,012 adults aged over 18 by phone between September 11 and 14.
Separately, support for Labour has plummeted in key marginal seats, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today.
In 58 critical seats support for Labour has fallen by nine points.
But the Tories have failed to make in-roads into Labour’s lead. Instead the Liberal Democrats have gained eight points.
Should results in the next general election see Labour lose out in these critical areas, Tony Blair’s majority would be dented but large enough to secure his party’s historic third term of office.
ICM re-interviewed 500 voters in these key marginal seats after first contacting them in 2001, and found only seven voters who said they were switching from Labour to the Conservatives.
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,003 people in 58 marginal constituencies across the country by telephone between September 19-23.
