Public back Miliband’s big policies – but they’re not convinced by him

This weekend’s YouGov polling is a mixed bag for Labour and Ed Miliband.

The topline polling shows Labour on 38% and a lead of 7%, a considerable increase on the 1% lead showed by YouGov late last week. Although that’s a big fluctuation, it does at least suggest a healthy lead somewhere in between.

Miliband’s big policy announcements all receive huge support and his positions on recent controversies, such as the Pfizer/AstraZeneca takeover, clearly chime with public opinion. Here are the results from Peter Kellner’s commentary this morning:

• By four-to-one, we support a two-year freeze of gas and electricity prices
• By three-to-one we want to curb the power of landlords to raise the rents of sitting tenants
• Also by three-to-one we think Britain’s railways should be renationalised (Miliband does not go as far as that, though some Labour MPs and candidates would like him to)
• By two-to-one we want owners of homes they leave empty to pay more council tax
• By almost three-to-one we think the Government should have the power to halt foreign takeovers of British companies such as AstraZeneca

Having such big leads on all of these topics is seriously impressive. It’s encouraging that as we get closer to the general election, Miliband’s ability to read the public mood on a range of issues is improving. Good political intuition is vital for good prime ministers.

However, while Miliband may be saying the right things, people still aren’t convinced by him.

Only 23% of people think he’s up to the job of prime minister, 14% think he’s a strong leader and (perhaps a little unfairly) over a quarter of people feel he’s not made it clear what he stands for. These figures aren’t even that much better amongst only Labour voters, suggesting that a fair chunk of our support might be a bit soft. Unless the seven point lead is the start of a very welcome poll boost, rather than an outlier, it might be argued that people’s uncertainty for Miliband is making them wary of supporting Labour.

While some of this personal polling could improve as people become more accustomed to the idea that Miliband has a very good chance of becoming PM next May, it’s not something that he or his team can afford to wait around for.