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Trust Poll
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The findings of a Today poll suggest a sense of disillusion has set in among voters since last June's general election. Labour won the election easily, but our poll indicates they may now be losing the political battle in certain key areas.
See the full results here.
The pollsters ICM asked 1,006 people a series of questions over two days last week.
54% of respondents said they now trusted the government less than they did one year ago; in addition Labour is now viewed as the least trustworthy party by 36% of people compared with 29% who nominated the Conservatives. This could prove significant in the long run: the Tories suffered a catastrophic loss of trust in the 1990s and were punished by the voters in the 1997 general election. If Labour cannot restore its image in the voters' minds the electoral consequences could be serious.
We also asked a series of questions about whether the government has lived up to expectations in four key policy areas: the economy, health, education and transport. The government has made delivering better public services its explicit top priority in this term but judging by these results it has much work to do.
51% of respondents said it had not lived up to expectations on education, 65% on health and a whopping 81% on transport.
The fact that the poll was carried out in the week that Stephen Byers resigned undoubtedly will have influenced the results, even so there is little comfort for the government here.
The economy provides the one bright spot with 50% of respondents saying they think the government has lived up to its promises compared to 41% who believe they have not. This is good news for Labour because over many years voting intention has been shown to be closely linked to economic performance.
Our final question asked whether people would prefer Tony Blair or Gordon Brown as Prime Minister; they opted for Mr Blair by 46% to 30%; a decent margin, but it suggests Gordon Brown is winning many admirers for his performance at the Treasury.
Useful Links:
Party Funding - results of a poll commissioned by the Today programme.
Political corruption - Jonty Bloom investigates.
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81% of respondents were disappointed in the government's delivery on transport |
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