LABOUR DOWNTURN

by RAY FLEMING
AT last there is some sign that the great British public has rumbled Tony Blair and New Labour. The drop of five points from 37 to 32 per cent in one month shown by the latest ICM poll is a significant fall in public support and puts Labour on its lowest point since it was defeated in the 1987 general election. Furthermore there has been nothing but bad news since the poll was taken. However, there is not much comfort for David Cameron either; the Conservatives remain on 34 per cent suggesting that the bounce achieved by their new leader has stalled; a two point advantage at a general election would not give Mr Cameron a working majority. So where have the votes gone? As ever, the Liberal Democrats are the principal beneficiaries with a three per cent rise to 24 per cent despite doubts about Menzies Campbell's leadership and continuing rumours about the financial arrangements it made for the last election. This poll was conducted last Friday-Sunday when Mr Cameron's visit to the Arctic Circle was getting most of the media space and time left over after coverage of Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday. Doubts have been expressed about the wisdom of the environmental drive in which Mr Cameron is heavily engaged. In another poll, by Populus, voters agreed that Mr Cameron seemed “more genuinely concerned about the environment than most politicians” but more than half doubted that the Conservative Party in government would implement his ideas.