Politicalbetting.com has linked to the detail of the latest ICM poll.
It pretty much suggests that the public raison d'etre of the recent attempt to oust Blair as PM - that he would be replaced by someone a lot more popular who would help Labour's electoral prospects - was total nonsense.
Key figures:
32% of Labour supporters want Blair to stay on for a full term and another 20% want him to stay on and fight the next General Election. Only 23% want him to go now.
Asked "Who do you think will make a better Prime Minister, Gordon Brown or Tony Blair?" Blair comes out ahead in every region of the country, every social class, both genders and every age group, with Brown only higher rated by supporters of the Lib Dems and minor parties. Blair's leads on this issue were particularly big amongst C1 and C2 social classes, and the Midlands and the South ... i.e. the demographic and geographical patches where general elections are won and lost. Amongst Labour's own voters Blair scored 61%, Brown 29%.
The attempts to speed things up didn't even help the person on whose behalf they were done - let alone the wider Party: amongst voters as a whole 65% think Brown was harmed by the events. 72% of Labour voters believe this too.
Supports all of the anecdotal/qualatitative stuff I've done over the last couple of weeks. Coincidentally I wrote about it, just before I read your post.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stuartssoapbox.com/2006/09/cameron_crew_hi.html
Perhaps you could enlighten us as to who would better be better than Brown?
ReplyDeleteSooner or later, whether pushed or through his own choice, Blair is going. Perhaps people with the best interests of the Labour Party in mind would do better to promote potential leadership candidates rather than criticise them.