Tories fail to lead on top three election issues

The Conservatives are not the most trusted party on any of the top three most important issues to voters, a new poll has found. Labour lead on two of the top three issues.

A ComRes poll for ITV News found that the second and third most important topics to voters were managing the NHS and keeping down the cost of everyday items – and Labour hold 12 point leads on both.

The most important topic was controlling immigration, where UKIP have a large lead of 21 points, and Labour are the third most trusted party behind the Tories. However, a similar poll in September found that the three parties polled very similarly on immigration – when the word “controlling” was not included in the question.

Reducing the deficit was voters’ third most important issue, and promoting economic growth the fourth – the Conservatives lead by very large margins on both.

You can see the graphs of the polling here, via ComRes’ Tom Mludzinski (click to enlarge):

While trailing so poorly on controlling immigration and reducing the deficit in a week where Miliband made major elections pledges on both will be tough to swallow, the fact that the NHS and the cost of living are considered more important than the Tories’ best subjects will give cause for hope. The debate among Labour strategists will now be about whether to improve the party’s standings on issues where we poll poorly, or to concentrate on the ones where we poll well in order to make sure we fight the election on our territory.