A poll conduced at the end of February by Ipsos-MORI for The Economist shows that the economy continues to be the public's most pressing concern. This is potentially a double-edged sword for Labour. The public still blame Labour, rather than the banks for the deficit. Moving beyond that will be easier said than done.
A poll conduced at the end of February by Ipsos-MORI for The Economist shows that the economy continues to be the public’s most pressing concern.
This is potentially a double-edged sword for Labour.
With the increasingly influential presence of Lynton Crosby in the Tory camp, not to mention the loss of the Eastleigh by-election, David Cameron will come under increasing pressure from Tory backbenchers to shift policy further to the Right.
Nothing new here of course.
An excellent (separate) piece for the Economist today notes that in the run up to the 2005 election, an emboldened Tory Right sought to “shift…emphasis [in the party] away from public services towards immigration, crime and, of course, Europe…”.
They largely succeeded, resulting in a calamitous electoral defeat for Tory leader Michael Howard in a winnable election.
Backbench ideologues rarely learn lessons from history, so expect Cameron to face similar demands as worried MPs sense weakness on the back of humiliations like that in Eastleigh.
Labour can, indeed, take a degree of solace from the prospect of the Tories scrabbling around to prevent their core vote indulging Nigel Farage’s protest party.
No more than a degree of solace, though.
While Ed Miliband has been wise to turn his attention to economic concerns of late in the form of (largely symbolic) policy proposals on the mansion tax and the 10p tax rate, Labour is still suffering badly when voters are asked about the economy, as a poll for YouGov this week showed.
Q a) Which party would handle Britain’s economy best?
Q b) Who would you trust more to run the economy?
| a) Which party? | b) Which team? | ||||||
| Con | Lab | Other/ Don’t know | Cameron/ Osborne | Miliband/ Balls | Not sure | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Apr 2012 | 28 | 27 | 45 | 36 | 28 | 35 | |
| Jul 2012 | 27 | 26 | 47 | 34 | 31 | 35 | |
| Oct 2012 | 26 | 28 | 46 | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Dec 2012 | 28 | 27 | 45 | 37 | 26 | 37 | |
| Feb 2013 | 27 | 29 | 44 | 35 | 29 | 37 |
As Peter Kelner phrased it:
“Almost three years after Gordon Brown left Downing Street, more people still blame Labour rather than the Conservatives for the state of the economy and the public spending cuts that Osborne has imposed. Secondly, when asked who they trust more to run the economy, more people still prefer Cameron and Osborne to Miliband and Balls.”
While Labour is right to focus on the economy – it is voters’ main concern and Osborne is the government’s biggest liability – doing so is a double-edged sword. It is potentially Labour’s strongest area of attack, but it also risks a damaging boomerang effect.
Moving beyond the fact that the public appear to still blame Labour, rather than the banks, for the deficit will be easier said than done.
In the public mind, the party is still stuck in the Gordon Brown era, and the failure to win the argument in 2009/10 that it was the banks rather than the government which was to blame for the crisis still hangs around the party’s neck like an albatros.
142 Responses to “Labour is still struggling to leave the Brown era behind”
Mick
Foreign just means a place outside your country and its jurisdiction. Just calm down dear, we’re talking only neutral language.
And if 85% of my people spoke then I’d best take notice what they want, with Hannan just reporting the findings. It’s not his figure.
The key thing is EU law overrides our own. If our lads pass laws which clashes with EU stuff, EU stuff over-rides. No ifs or buts.
Mind, we can ignore it as the french or Italians do, but we’re stupid that way.
Mick
I don’t wanna be a Newsbot. And I can’t control little Newsbot. And little Newsbot refuses to calm down dear and says I’m wide-eyed, just like him.
Hmmm….
Newsbot9
I’m not a centralist, so your question is meaningless. Moreover, I’m not a collectivist and don’t speak for others as you’re demanding I do. I’m talking about the studies and poll trends seen today – the coalition have managed to drive away an amazing number of voters.
And no, if MP’s want to get 1 more vote than their opposition, they need to appeal to just enough people. They don’t need anything *like* a majority under FPTP.
Mick
MPs can see their votes slump if they’re crap, with greater risks of losing than just scraping home. And the same can be said for standing under PR.
If people stay at home, they stay at home. More seats are dished out to the losers than they deserve whatever the turnout figures, however the candidates appeal. Pick your poison with PR.
Newsbot9
Yes, you’re using emotive, bigoted language, and spitting out your arrant arrogant demand to control me again. You might be a foreigner to the EU, but I’m not – I’m a British and hence EU citizen.
And no, EU law does not override our Parliamentary Sovereignty. You don’t know or understand our constitutional system. Moreover, we’re in non-compliance with far more EU regulations than any other EU member. But hey, facts!