Lib Dems’ education vision winning votes
Support for the Liberal Democrats among teachers and students has rocketed, a new poll finds.
Some 47 per cent of students have decided to back the Lib Dems, compared to 23 per cent opting for Labour and 22 per cent for the Conservatives, the Times Higher Education Supplement found.
The figure is up eight points since February.
Labour is down six percentage points.
Among university lecturers and academics, 44 per cent said they planned to vote for the Lib Dems, double the number in 2001, the OpinionPanel Research poll found.
Charles Kennedy would appear to have garnered support for proposing to abolish fees to keep education “free”.
The poll comes as Mr Kennedy prepares to visit several university towns to spell out the Lib Dem message.
His party has identified 27 seats where Labour and the Tories hold majorities of less than the total sum of students in the constituency.
He said the poll result would send “a shiver of apprehension” through the Labour camp.
The “momentum” was with his party, he said.
“People are responding to our policy platform and our positive message. This is not just about our pledge to scrap tuition fees, but our agenda of fairness for the country as a whole.”
The survey questioned 1,020 undergraduates between April 22 and April 25.
