By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk
Labour supporters are divided over Ed Miliband’s performance as leader – and the percentage of supporters thinking he’s doing an “excellent” or “good” job has declined over the last month – 37% of those voting believe he’s doing a good job, with 12% rating his performance so far as excellent. However 32% believe that his performance as leader has been only “fair”, with 19% (up from only 12% in November) considering his performance “poor”.
Alan Johnson’s popularity has also taken a hit over the past month. Back in November Johnson was rated positively by 75% of readers and negatively by just 18%. This month Johnson is viewed negatively by 38% (with 55% positive) – making him the least popular shadow cabinet member with LabourList readers.
Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper remain popular members of the shadow cabinet (viewed positively by 79% and 75% of respondents respectively). Andy Burnham is currently the most popular member of the shadow cabinet, with a positive rating of 80%.
There’s still some work to do for some of the less well known shadow cabinet members – over 50% of LabourList readers still have no view on seven members of the shadow cabinet. Shadow Scottish secretary Ann McKechin is still viewed as something of a mystery, with 82% of readers having no opinion of her.
There’s some potentially good news for the “Labour Yes” campaign in these results too. LabourList readers remain divided over AV, but having been 9% behind last month (before the launch of the official campaigns) – a yes vote is now marginally ahead of a no vote, which may suggest that the campaign is having some effect.
Choosing Labour candidates through a primary system continues to grow in popularity, with 50% of Labour supporters now in favour of such a measure. Meanwhile the economy/employment is still the most pressing issue for LabourList readers, with 77% of respondents listing it as a main area of interest.
552 LabourList readers voted in the survey, which ran from Saturday 18th – Wednesday 22nd December. Thanks to all who took part.
Survey Results
How do you think Ed Miliband is performing as leader so far?
Excellent – 12.3%
Good – 36.8%
Fair – 32%
Poor – 19%
| What are your overall impressions of each shadow cabinet member? | |||
| Positive | Negative | Don’t know | |
| Harriet Harman | 63.2 | 20.6 | 17.0 |
| Alan Johnson | 55.0 | 37.5 | 8.3 |
| Yvette Cooper | 74.5 | 10.5 | 16.1 |
| Ed Balls | 79.4 | 13.0 | 8.3 |
| Sadiq Khan | 52.3 | 21.7 | 26.7 |
| Jim Murphy | 42.0 | 10.5 | 47.8 |
| John Denham | 73.4 | 8.2 | 19.3 |
| Douglas Alexander | 66.4 | 13.1 | 20.9 |
| John Healey | 43.7 | 10.0 | 46.7 |
| Andy Burnham | 80.0 | 8.7 | 11.3 |
| Caroline Flint | 44.6 | 22.7 | 33.5 |
| Maria Eagle | 27.8 | 13.8 | 59.1 |
| Meg Hillier | 16.3 | 11.0 | 72.8 |
| Mary Creagh | 14.8 | 9.0 | 76.1 |
| Liam Byrne | 37.7 | 22.1 | 40.5 |
| Shaun Woodward | 19.5 | 21.0 | 60.1 |
| Ann McKechin | 10.0 | 9.1 | 81.5 |
| Peter Hain | 43.8 | 18.9 | 38.6 |
| Ivan Lewis | 14.4 | 13.8 | 72.4 |
| Tessa Jowell | 35.4 | 23.7 | 42.2 |
| Angela Eagle | 39.6 | 13.9 | 47.7 |
| Rosie Winterton | 29.4 | 11.2 | 60.2 |
| Hilary Benn | 52.7 | 9.2 | 39.1 |
How will you vote in next year’s AV referendum?
Yes (In favour of AV) – 39.6%
No (Against AV / In favour of current system) – 38.2%
Don’t know – 19.8%
Won’t vote – 2.4%
Do you support some form of primary for selecting Labour Party candidates?
Yes – 50.4%
No – 34.7%
Don’t Know – 15%
What are your main areas of interest?
| Crime / Justice | 34.5% |
| Culture | 25.8% |
| Economy / Employment | 76.9% |
| Education | 68.8% |
| Electoral Reform | 22.9% |
| Environment / Climate Change | 30.4% |
| Equality | 48% |
| Families | 23.2% |
| Health | 51.8% |
| Housing | 43.75 |
| International Development | 19.7% |
| International Relations | 26% |
| Immigration | 18.5% |
| Parliamentary / Constitutional Reform | 29.9% |
| Party Democracy | 29.2% |
| Taxation | 38.4% |
| Transport | 26% |
| Unions | 28.6% |
| Workers’ Rights | 39.5% |
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