Polling observatory reveals support for political parties in the run up to 2015
With a UK general election just 14 months away political observers at the Universities of Southampton, Manchester and Simon Fraser in Canada are producing an online monthly report to measure the overall popularity of the country’s leading parties.
‘The Polling Observatory’, hosted by the Southampton Politics blog www.sotonpolitics.org, pools together all available polling evidence in one easy-to-access resource.
The report is compiled by Dr Will Jennings from Politics and International Relations at the University of Southampton, Dr Robert Ford at the University of Manchester, and Dr Mark Pickup of Simon Fraser University in Canada.
This month’s report, published today (Wednesday, 12 February) finds that while January was been a stormy month in and out of politics, support for the parties remains largely stable.
“While commentators paid to follow the torrent of current affairs full time tend to read meaning into every minor tremor in the polls, in reality public opinion moves slowly, and seldom.”
Dr Jennings said: “During the current parliament our analyses suggest that there have been just a few key turning points in public support for the main parties. Lately, Labour’s support has been steady despite the slight recovery in Conservative fortunes. As every month before the next election passes, the possibility of a sizable shift in the electoral mood diminishes.”
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