Majority believe Miliband has been poor or very poor: State of the Party – June 2011

July 4, 2011 2:13 pm

State of the PartyLast month we told you that Ed Miliband had experienced a slump in popularity amongst LabourList readers, but that’s nothing compared to what has happened this month.

53% of LabourList readers who took part in our latest monthly survey believe that Miliband’s performance as Labour leader has been “Poor or Very Poor”, up from just 32% last month. Meanwhile there has been a sharp dip in the percentage of LabourList readers who believe that the Labour leader has performed well. The % of you who believe that Ed has done an “Excellent or Good” job as leader has halved since last month, dropping from 41% to just 22%.

This slump can perhaps be explained in part by the fact that 69% of respondents thought that Ed Miliband was wrong to oppose last week’s public sector strikes. As the survey took place at a similar time, this is likely to have had an impact on the results. However, if we take a look at the graph below, you can see that this is part of a longer trend.

Rising discontent

Rising discontent.JPG

There’s not much good news for the rest of the shadow cabinet either. Eight members of the shadow cabinet (Hillier, Creagh, Byrne, Woodward, McKechin, Lewis, Jowell and Winterton) are viewed more negatively than positively by LabourList readers. However for most of the shadow cabinet the real problem is that most of you haven’t formed an opinion on them, nearly nine months into their roles.

Two of the more high profile shadow cabinet members – Liam Byrne and Tessa Jowell – are more unpopular than they are unknown though, with 41% (Byrne) and 39% (Jowell) of viewing them in a negative light.

At the top end of the shadow cabinet rankings, Ed Balls, Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper remain unassailable as the three most popular members of Labour’s top team.

Full analysis of the results, what they mean, and where Ed Miliband must go from here will be posted on LabourList later this afternoon.

574 LabourList readers voted in the survey, which ran from Thursday 30th June – Monday 4th July. Thanks to all who took part. You can see the full breakdown of results here.

Comments are closed

Latest

  • Comment Housing upheaval can be traced back to Thatcher

    Housing upheaval can be traced back to Thatcher

    If further evidence was needed that the Government is destroying our communities then it came by the bucket load with proposals to relocate hundreds of housing benefit claimants. Councils across London desperately searched for a solution to the housing benefit cap that made it impossible for some of the capital’s poorest residents to stay in their homes. First we heard of plans to move residents to Darlington, Stoke, Hull and parts of Yorkshire. But the revelation that Westminster Council planned [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured The austerity consensus has collapsed

    The austerity consensus has collapsed

    There is no alternative: the only way out of Britain’s current economic plight is massive cuts to public spending. Taxes on the wealthiest must be slashed: they are blocks on aspiration and economically counterproductive. Austerity is the only game in town. Or so we have been told ever since the Coalition was formed in the rose gardens of Number 10 Downing Street. The overwhelming majority of the media has gladly reinforced the Government line, and those voices calling for an [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Should Labour go further on football reform?

    Should Labour go further on football reform?

    “As a party, Labour should take great pride in the fact that we initiated Supporters Direct, but now is the time to go further.” These sentiments, expressed in a recent article for Progress by Steve Rotheram MP, hark back to a time where the landscape was somewhat different for the Labour party, but similar in many ways to that faced by football supporters in 2012. The Football Taskforce was established soon after Labour came to power in 1997, with the [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Making Labour Policy: Who calls the tune?

    Making Labour Policy: Who calls the tune?

    Excellent election results and rising polls have brought a mood of unity and created space and time for serious work on policy. Francois Hollande’s victory shows that austerity is not the only option, and Labour must start to develop an alternative agenda, rejecting the Tory politics of resentment and division in favour of policies which are fair, principled and credible: on housing, crime, transport, health, schools, higher education, manufacturing, tax, defence, social care, equality, employment rights and the environment. We [...]

    Read more →
  • News It’s the budget what won it…

    It’s the budget what won it…

    Why did Labour win the 2010 local elections so convincingly? It’s the budget right? This graph of polling from TNS BMRB certainly suggests that. Labour’s slim lead extends rapidly following the budget (highlighted) – and current stands at 12 points (42/30). And as for why Labour did better in 2012 compared to the 2011 elections – just compare May and May 2012. A year is a long time in politics…

    Read more →