Blow as poll reveals people think they’ll be better off under Tories

Labour’s “cost of living crisis” narrative has been dealt a blow today, as a new poll reveals that more people think their family’s finances would be more secure with the Tories than Labour. The Tories also poll better on who people think will make better decisions on handling the economy.

The ComRes poll for The Independent shows that, despite people’s lack of confidence in David Cameron and George Osborne on economic matters, they are still more trusted than Ed Miliband and Ed Balls.

43% of people said they feel their family’s finances would be in better shape with Cameron and Osborne rather than Miliband and Balls, while 46% of people disagreed – giving them an aggregated score of -3%. Only 32% agreed that Miliband and Balls would be better for their family’s budget, while 56% disagreed – an aggregate score for Labour of -24%.

On making economic decisions, the Conservatives’ struggle more. 37% trust Cameron and Osborne to make the right decisions on the economy, compared to 57% who do not – a rating of -20%. For Miliband and Balls, 27% of people trust them to make the right calls on the economy, and 66% do – meaning Labour’s team score -39%.

However, the leads the Tories show in these polls has not been replicated in voting intention where, on average, Labour still lead by around 2 points. That people are still not necessarily voting on economic issues, as has been so often predicted, will come as welcome news at Labour HQ, although the family budgets question will raise concern that the “cost of living crisis” line has not cut through.

With the Autumn Statement taking place tomorrow, the economy is likely to be one of the main political stories for the rest of the week. Labour will be hoping that a good Commons performance from Ed Balls will be enough to start changing people’s minds.

In May, Ed Miliband launched a Cost of Living Contract, detailing ten policies that would make people better off. In light of this latest poll, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this resurface.