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Labour support slumps to 22% as voters show fury
Paul Waugh15.05.09
Labour's support was in meltdown today as a new poll showed the party had slumped to a record low of 22 per cent.
A day after Gordon Brown's local and Euro election launch was overshadowed by the MPs' expenses scandal, the YouGov/Sun survey showed the Prime Minister on course for disastrous losses at a general election.
The Tories are on 41 per cent, a lead that would give David Cameron a Commons majority of 152 seats and wipe out Cabinet ministers Jack Straw, John Hutton and Jacqui Smith. The Liberal Democrats are on 21 per cent.
While the Government has been hammered over expenses, the Tories could also be punished in European elections next month. YouGov found Tory support for the Euro poll has plummeted from 37 per cent to 28 per cent as voters show their anger over Conservative claims for manure, moat-cleaning and chandeliers.
Labour support has dropped to 19 per cent for the Euro poll and there are fears it will be beaten by the UK Independence Party. The poll showed six out of 10 voters felt “most MPs have been abusing the allowances system”.
Just two per cent said “almost all MPs are reasonably honest”. David Cameron fared the best in terms of which main party leader was best placed over the issue. Of those polled, 24 per cent, said they were “very confident” about the Tory leader, compared to nine per cent for Lib Dem chief Nick Clegg and seven per cent for Mr Brown.
All the main parties fear UKIP and the BNP may benefit on 4 June. Former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Tebbit today reiterated his call for voters to punish the main parties.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson joined him in urging constituency parties to consider deselecting MPs over the affair. A ConservativeHome.com poll of activists found an overwhelming majority want sacked Cameron aide Andrew Mackay to quit as MP.
Mr Johnson said there could be grounds for bringing police in to investigate some claims. “It looks to me as though Plod needs to come in,” he said. “I must be careful what I say here because I am chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, but some people may very well have a serious case to answer.”
Campaign group the TaxPayers' Alliance has made a formal complaint to police over Elliot Morley's expenses. Chief executive Matthew Elliott said: “This is too serious an issue to ignore.” A Met spokesman said: “We are considering a number of complaints in relation to alleged misuse of expenses.”
Reader views (8)
Given that the Conservatives are up to their neck in the current MP expenses debacle and have consistently blocked any reforming measures within Parliamant, why are they still on 41% of the vote. David Cameron has been terribly clever in avoiding the John Lewis list and has chosen instead to go for the maximim living allowance expenses with a whopping large mortgage to boot, courtesy of the taxpayer. This is just as corrupt. WHy cannot the voters see through that. Methinks the people get the government they deserve.
- James Brown, hammersmith, west london
As much as 22% eh!
- Fred, Horsham
So far only 58000+ have signed the petetion for Brown to resign, How many will it take to make this happen now?
- Mike, London England
Why would 41% of people still want to vote for a party that has colluded with Labour in blocking openness on MPs expenses? On 3rd July 2008, Conservative MPs voted with Labour to stop a change in the rules that would have made them much more rigorous. No Lib Dem MPs voted against the change. Lib Dem MP Norman Baker has been campaigning on this issue for years.
- Robert C, London UK
I know people who'll vote exactly the way their parents vote. The surprising thing is that there're so many of them, which suggests to me that a large minority of the electorate are, simply, unthinking. Which, if I'm right, we get what we deserve. Maybe it's time for another box on our ballot slips that says "None of the above". That's better than deliverately spoiling one's ballot. But if the main parties don't de-select their offenders, I think it's time for me to vote for an independent - just because the institutional parties need to be broken. Arrogant sods.
- With Smoke Coming Out Of My Ears, London NW11
I'm very disappointed at 1 in 5 of our fellow citizens. Labour has built up a strong client base of unemployed and public sector dependents. I guess these people are just dishonestly troughing, like the "inglorious 600" at Westminster. They know that if Labour go, their supply of Other People's Money is threatened. Shame on those of you in the public sector who support this venal government for your own selfish ends.
- Gary Walker, Lincoln, England
Does this mean 22% of the electorate are brain-washed morons?
- Blind Pugh, Woking, UK
How on earth can they still get 22%? I guess it must be their own MPs and familes getting them this much as no one in their right mind would have anything to do with them after 12 years of bringing the UK to its knees
- Mike, London England
