Tories extend lead in polls.

[jonren]

This is to be expected. This shower of charlattans have been exposed and the electorate are not as stupid as Clunk imagines. Time to call an election.


www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3176557.html

[ricklinc]

Not another bloody poll. I'm sick of the damn things. They're as bad as government targets. Not that this government could be anything other than fcuking incompetent but even one as good as mediocre couldn't do the job right if it kept paying attention to sudden polls.

[policecar]

all these bloody polls, coming over here, taking our jobs, lazing around in our hospital beds and prisons all day. It's a disgrace.

[Omega]

ICM’s monthly poll for the Guardian has topline figures, with changes from last month, of CON 44%(+6), LAB 32%(-1), LDEM 16%(-3). The poll was conducted between the 23rd and 25th January.

The poll obviously shows a large and significant increase in Conservative support - the sort of large shift I’d normally urge some caution about if it wasn’t in line with the sort of movement all the other January polls have shown. All the polling companies are now showing the Conservatives back above the psychologically important 40% level, back in a double point lead, and back in an election winning position. Things are not as bad for Labour as they were in the summer, but clearly things are not headed in their direction. There can be no doubt that the tide has moved back against Labour, and we now have to see how far it falls, how this effects the media narrative and if there is anything they can do to turn it around once again.

[lala]

Why on Earth would Brown call an election when the polls are against him, Jonren? That would be a bit stupid. He's entitled to hold on until the limit of the term, as did John Major. Griping about him doing it belittles the griper.

[Omega]

Brown might be better off to call an election now and lose with the Tories having a majority of 50. If he waits til 2010 it might prove a far worse result

[policecar]

John Major was elected - Mong performed a Putin like Night of the Long Knives against his Tonyness.

[mids]

Polls are great. Especially when they're back to normal after a few weird months of Mandelson/Campbell/BBC propaganda outliers.

[radge]

what does it matter about how much the majority is? If you have a majority youre gonna win. The size of the majority is besides the point.

[minge tightly]

The size of the majority is important as it dictates the likelihood of the elected govermnet enacting the legislation that they want to.

For example, Nu Labour's landslide majority in '97 & '01 allowed the leadership to ignore the rebels within their own ranks and enact all sorts of nonsense.

While the pish thin majority that the Tories had in the mid-'90s meant that, to get the legislation through that they wanted, they were usually having to rely on the votes of the few mentalist Unionist MPs from Northern Ireland.

That's beside the point at the mo though. Interesting to see that the 'Brown bounce' lasted feck all time (Quite rightly) once the public woke up to the fact that Gordo isn't a superhero, that real-life doesn't follow Hollywood in having a happy ending and that the government hasn't a clue what to do aboput the financial meltdown.

Also interesting, and frightening, is this editorial from the Guardian...

"The prime minister should make good on his words about doing whatever it takes. It is too late now to credibly disown the course of the recession. Mr Brown's best bet is to throw every­thing at it – and then to pray that it works."

...oh dear

[minge tightly]

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/26/icm-poll-gordon-brown-tories

[flatandy]

Jan 27, 2009 13:51:14 GMT minge tightly said:

That's beside the point at the mo though. Interesting to see that the 'Brown bounce' lasted feck all time (Quite rightly) once the public woke up to the fact that Gordo isn't a superhero, that real-life doesn't follow Hollywood in having a happy ending and that the government hasn't a clue what to do aboput the financial meltdown.

What's interesting, to me, is that Brown and Cameron both have pitifully weak and pitiful support. That, basically, neither are offering stuff the public wants to hear, which means that a 10% lead can vanish within days. Brown's collapse has shown that the public remember that Brown's rubbish.

Cameron's gain from it, though, comes from the fact that Cameron's said nothing at all, and as soon as he says anything the public remember that his suggestion for escaping the recession is utterly insane - to do what Brown's done wrong, but more so.

[minge tightly]

Oh I don't think the public have a had a sudden Damascene conversion to reality by any means - support ebbing to the Tories is, judging by what Cameron has (And hasn't) said, purely displacement fantasy.

The public want to hear a government willing to spend on public projects (As the polls claim) but they don't want to see banks bailed-out.

But it's true that support for both leaders and parties is, as you say, pitifully weak. Question is, what the feck are we going to do about it?

[VikingHumpingWitch]

I think now is the time to launch the FatAndistas campaign. Properly. The public are ready for an alternative.

[flatandy]

Hmm. We're deeply indolent, though, and not that obsessed by the aphrodisiac of power, and as such may not have the drive to succeed.

[omnipleasant]

Rogue poll. Non-story.

Anyway I think I agree with what (the sane) people on this thread have said. The govt are, unsurprisingly, taking the blame for the continuing recession, and the Tories are getting extra support by default despite been widely seen as useless chumps themselves.

[jonren]

The Icelandic Prime Minister did not repeat ad nauseam "It's a world recession". He fell on his sword like an honourable politician, with a modicum of integrity. That is a quality unknown to the useless oaf we have now in Downing Street.

[flatandy]

To be fair, Jonren, the Icelandic government defaulted on loans and the country went bust, which has not happened in the UK and is pretty unlikely to happen in the UK, and if it does happen in the UK then everyone is really well and truly fcuked.

[omnipleasant]

And also to be fair, Jonren, the fact that Iceland (and every other country in the world) is also affected as well as us suggests that it IS a world recession.

[jonren]

We had to go cap in hand to the IMF before, Andy. We could be nearer insolvency than the government care to admit. Some younger people were not around when we were deep in the brown stuff before. It was a frightening time.
Clunk claims to have foreseen the present state ten years ago. What defences did he put up against it. To say he could do nothing is at least disingenous, at worst a bare faced lie.
We have a debt now that your granchildren will be paying off. Unbelievable!