Lib Dem support in free fall

Just 40% of Lib Dem voters approve of the Coalition's performance. The dramatic fall-off in support sees twice as many deserters switching to Labour as to the Tories.

Just two-in-five Liberal Democrat voters approve of the Coalition’s performance after two months in office. The findings by YouGov underline a dramatic fall-off in support for the Lib Dems with twice as many deserters switching to Labour as to the Conservatives.

In a commentary published today on the YouGov website, the organisation’s President, Peter Kellner writes:

“Among those who voted Lib Dem on May 6, opinions are divided: just 40% approve of the coalition’s performance, while 36% disapprove. No wonder Lib Dem support has slumped since the coalition was formed.

“Indeed, of those who voted Lib Dem on May 6, just 46% would vote for the party if an election were held now, while 18% would vote Labour, 9% Conservative and 5% for other parties; 22% are ‘don’t knows’ or ‘won’t votes’. To be sure, the Lib Dems have picked up some support from voters who like their involvement the coalition, but there are too few of these to offset the deserters. Overall, Lib Dem support is down by one-third since the election.”

On the overall performance of the Coalition, Mr Kellner writes:

“The honeymoon is over. Actually, it was never that ardent in the first place…

“Over the past four weeks, the coalition’s approval rating has slipped slowly but remorselessly. Our latest figures report a net rating of plus four (approve 41%, disapprove 37%). In just over two months, the coalition’s rating has declined to levels that were not reached for almost three years under Tony Blair.”

45 Responses to “Lib Dem support in free fall”

  1. Jayne Childs

    RT @leftfootfwd: Lib Dem support slumps as just 40% of voters approve of the Coalition http://bit.ly/bmaFuM

  2. Rhiannon Lowton

    RT @leftfootfwd: Lib Dem support in free fall http://bit.ly/cgWFIh

  3. Robert

    lets see I’ll have a bet that the next election will be in five years time, as for labour getting it’s leader ready you think a few thousand Liberals will make a difference, labour lost about 400,000 members, and about five million voters, I think getting a leader is not the problem it’s getting people interested enough to care.

  4. OutsideLeft

    RT @Michael_Grieve: RT @leftfootfwd Lib Dem support slumps as just 40% of voters approve of the Coalition http://bit.ly/bmaFuM

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