Poll of councillors finds significant support for Miliband – but 1/3 say he should be less timid

A poll conducted by the Labour History Research Unit at Anglia Ruskin University of Labour councillors in marginal constituencies has found there significant support for Miliband.

Following recent rumours of that anonymous MPs were calling for Miliband to step down as leader, Dr Richard Carr at Anglia Ruskin University carried out a poll of Labour councillors in 106 parliamentary target seats for Labour and 50 seats that could swing to the Tories to find out what they thought of Miliband.

The results were positive. 79% of those asked said the reason for recent speculation concerning Miliband’s leadership stemmed from the press trying to whip up a story, rather than Miliband’s perceived poor performance (only 21% agreed with this second statement). A similar number (75%) thought that Miliband should not resign as leader, even if the negative news stories over his leadership continued and Labour’s poll lead disappeared. And 88% of those asked said that they personally backed Ed, as opposed to a small 12% who said they did not.

Given these results it’s unsurprising that 60% think Miliband would be a greater asset in their constituency come the general election than Alan Johnson, who it’s rumoured some MPs would like to see become leader (in spite of his repeated refusal to consider it).

This polling – along with the positive social media campaign that erupted over the weekend with the hashtag #webackEd – suggests that despite the rumours many grassroots Labour supporters are willing to back Miliband.

However, the criticism reserved for him is also worth noting. 36% of those asked thought Miliband’s main problem was that his policy offer has been too timid. While 28% thought there was no problem with Miliband at all, and 19% said the biggest issue was the perception that he’s ‘weird’.

The views on how to remedy negative news stories about Miliband are split. 49% think he should allow the Shadow Cabinet to take on more campaigning responsibilities, while 37% seem to think the opposite – that the public should see more of Miliband. Interestingly, a significant number 46% think Miliband should offer a more left wing platform, potentially chiming with those who think his policy offer is too timid.