Poll suggests Blair campaigning for Labour would be a “liability” rather than an asset

As we reported ten days ago, Tony Blair has said he “will do whatever the party wants” in the general election campaign. Yet a poll from YouGov published by Times RedBox this morning suggests that the former PM entering the fray wouldn’t help Labour.

In fact – the polling suggests Blair would be a “liability” for Labour. YouGov asked:

“Thinking about retired politicians playing a role in the current election, do you think getting support from the following politicians would be an asset or a liability for today’s politicians?”

Blair received a -47 rating amongst the general public, and a -22 rating amongst Labour voters, meaning that even Labour voters believe that Blair would be more of a liability than an asset to Miliband. Peter Mandelson received similar scores (-45 and -26). The general public also believe that Gordon Brown and John Prescott would be more liability than asset for Miliband, but Labour supporters polled by YouGov believe (by a small margin +10 and +4 respectively) that both men would be an asset to Labour’s general election campaign.

The Labour leader who won three elections seems to be significantly less popular with Labour voters than the leader who did not win an election…