Don’t be disheartened by the latest polls

From LabourList

Of course it is bad news that the Tory lead is, according to today’s Independent, now at 15 points. It is depressing and worrying for any Labour supporter to hear such news. But we need to realise that a negative public reaction to our economic woes is to be expected.

People feel fearful and angry and they, unsurprisingly, kick out at the government. But kicking isn’t the same as choosing and the truth is we are now in a long game politically. Alastair Campbell and Richard Angell (in the comments below) both report a lack of enthusiasm for Cameron’s team and the Independent poll itself shows that a majority of people agree with President Obama’s judgement: that the Tory leader is a “lightweight”.

People can overlook that now, and vent their feelings by giving him a poll lead but the underlying fundamentals mean that when it comes to an actual election it will be a different story. Then they have to choose rather than just kick. At that point, while acknowledging that we face a long, tough road ahead, we also need to avoid getting too disheartened and understand that there really is all still to play for.