The Lib Dems aren’t having a good general election campaign. They have just launched their new manifesto, which is unsurprisingly dominated by a pledge to stop Brexit by revoking Article 50 on day one. But their campaign as a whole is dominated by something much less popular than a general anti-Brexit attitude: Jo Swinson.
Labour insiders are pretty happy with how things are going in terms of competition from the Lib Dems. Jo Swinson’s party overtook Labour in a YouGov poll at the start of October, whereas they are now polling at around 14%, a distant third. The Lib Dem squeeze is cheering up those at the top of the Labour Party. Voters seem to have been specifically put off by the Lib Dem decision to highlight their relatively new leader. She is less popular than her party.
The more people get to know Jo Swinson, the more her popularity – and that of the Lib Dems – dips. Back in July, opinion polls showed that the public had a neutral view of her. ‘Don’t know’ answers in response to personal approval questions about her were between 44% and 55%. Fast forward to now, and the wider public knows a lot more about Swinson: the ‘don’t know’ group stands at around 20%. But her net approval rating has dropped to -23%. It looks like the risky strategy of putting the fresh face front and centre of the Lib Dem campaign has not paid off.
Jo Swinson’s personal opinion poll ratings
Key: A – approve; D – disapprove; DK – don’t know
|
Date(s) |
Pollster |
Sample |
A |
D |
DK |
Net |
|
14-16 Nov |
1,526 |
28% |
51% |
21% |
–23% |
|
|
13-14 Nov |
1,021 |
22% |
39% |
13% |
–17% |
|
|
11-12 Nov |
1,619 |
24% |
48% |
28% |
–24% |
|
|
6–8 Nov |
1,046 |
22% |
39% |
12% |
–17% |
|
|
6–8 Nov |
1,518 |
34% |
43% |
23% |
–9% |
|
|
31 Oct-2 Nov |
1,500 |
31% |
43% |
26% |
–12% |
|
|
30 Oct–1 Nov |
2,004 |
23% |
39% |
38% |
–16% |
|
|
30–31 Oct |
1,001 |
23% |
39% |
13% |
–16% |
|
|
25-28 Oct |
1,007 |
29% |
41% |
30% |
–12% |
|
|
23-25 Oct |
2,001 |
22% |
40% |
38% |
–18% |
|
|
15-17 Oct |
2,001 |
24% |
35% |
41% |
–11% |
|
|
9–11 Oct |
2,013 |
24% |
34% |
15% |
–10% |
|
|
3–4 Oct |
2,006 |
21% |
37% |
42% |
–16% |
|
|
25-27 Sep |
2,007 |
25% |
37% |
38% |
–12% |
|
|
16–17 Sep |
1,533 |
26% |
38% |
36% |
–12% |
|
|
13–16 Sep |
1,006 |
35% |
40% |
25% |
–5% |
|
|
5-7 Sep |
2,049 |
32% |
33% |
35% |
–1% |
|
|
29–31 Aug |
2,028 |
30% |
35% |
35% |
–5% |
|
|
26-27 Aug |
17% |
35% |
47% |
–18% |
||
|
21–23 Aug |
2,005 |
20% |
31% |
49% |
–11% |
|
|
8–9 Aug |
2,001 |
21% |
30% |
49% |
–9% |
|
|
26–30 Jul |
1,007 |
28% |
28% |
44% |
Tie |
|
|
25-27 Jul |
2,001 |
27% |
26% |
47% |
0.01 |
|
|
24–26 Jul |
2,006 |
21% |
24% |
55% |
–3% |
More from LabourList
50,000 back MP’s petition for a wealth tax to raise cash instead of welfare cuts
Where’s Keir? PM barely features in Labour party election broadcasts for the locals
‘Politics has a problem with young women. I’ve seen it first hand’