Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Is bad news good?

Labour has a new leader and a tie in a new public opinion poll. Is that good news? (Ignore the simplistic headline and remember the concept of margin of error.)

Morale boost for Ed Miliband as poll gives Labour first lead in three years
Ed Miliband ends his first week as Labour leader with his party ahead of the Tories in a Guardian/ICM poll for the first time since Gordon Brown ducked the chance of holding an election in 2007.

But the two-point lead is the result of a slump in Conservative support rather than any surge in Labour backing and the poll suggests voters are giving Miliband a wary rather than an enthusiastic welcome…

The poll also shows that the public mood is swinging against the scale and speed of spending cuts, with 43% now saying the cuts have gone too far compared with the 37% who think the balance is right. By contrast, in July 39% thought the balance right, and 38% said too far…

There has been a shift of opinion in Labour's favour since May, with support up almost eight points at the expense of the Lib Dems. Almost one in four people who voted Lib Dem are now thinking of voting Labour instead...

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