Poll boost for Tories as Miliband slips back

 

John Rentoul
Sunday 21 August 2011 00:00 BST
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Support for the Conservatives has strengthened to its highest level since October, according to a ComRes poll for The Independent on Sunday. The rioting and looting of a fortnight ago appears to have reinforced support for the traditional party of law and order. Tory support is up two points since last month to 38 per cent, just two points behind Labour on 40 per cent. The Liberal Democrats are up one point on 11 per cent.

David Cameron's personal rating is hardly changed, with 34 per cent saying he is "turning out to be a good Prime Minister", while Ed Miliband has fallen back three points, with just 24 per cent agreeing that he is "turning out to be a good leader of the Labour Party".

The poll found little support for Bill Bratton, the former police chief of New York and Los Angeles, who Mr Cameron hoped would become Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, but who has agreed to advise the Home Secretary instead. Only 19 per cent of those questioned agreed that Mr Bratton was "the best person to take over the running of London's police", while 44 per cent disagreed.

In other findings, 31 per cent said they trusted Mr Cameron and George Osborne, the Chancellor, to "make the right decisions about the economy", against 18 per cent who trusted Mr Miliband and Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor, to make the right decisions.

ComRes interviewed 2,028 GB adults online on 17 and 18 August 2011. Full tables at www.comres.co.uk

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