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| David Cameron is less popular than Tory party for first time, poll finds | David Cameron is less popular than Tory party for first time, poll finds |
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| David Cameron is less popular than his party for the first time, according to a poll. | David Cameron is less popular than his party for the first time, according to a poll. |
| The survey, conducted for the former Conservative treasurer Lord Ashcroft, showed a "noticeable shift" towards dissatisfaction with the prime minister's performance, while the Tories lost ground on key issues such as crime, immigration, welfare reform and the economy over the early months of this year. | The survey, conducted for the former Conservative treasurer Lord Ashcroft, showed a "noticeable shift" towards dissatisfaction with the prime minister's performance, while the Tories lost ground on key issues such as crime, immigration, welfare reform and the economy over the early months of this year. |
| Ashcroft blamed the Tory setbacks on the party putting people off by "talking amongst ourselves" about peripheral issues such as Europe and gay marriage rather than focusing on voters' core priorities. He issued a warning to the party's leadership that there was "no time to waste", and said it was vital for the spending review by the chancellor, George Osborne, later this month to show that Tories were doing what the public wanted from them. | |
| Overall, 37% of those questioned said they would vote Labour, 27% Conservative, 15% the UK Independence party and 9% Liberal Democrat, giving Ed Miliband's party a comfortable 10-point advantage, though Ashcroft noted that this was "not much of a score for an opposition party expecting to sweep to power in 23 months' time". | Overall, 37% of those questioned said they would vote Labour, 27% Conservative, 15% the UK Independence party and 9% Liberal Democrat, giving Ed Miliband's party a comfortable 10-point advantage, though Ashcroft noted that this was "not much of a score for an opposition party expecting to sweep to power in 23 months' time". |
| A majority still said they would prefer to have Cameron than Miliband in Downing Street, and the prime minister and chancellor retained their lead over Miliband and the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, as the best team to manage the economy. | A majority still said they would prefer to have Cameron than Miliband in Downing Street, and the prime minister and chancellor retained their lead over Miliband and the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, as the best team to manage the economy. |
| One bright light for the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, was that the government's lead over Labour on the economy widened by several points if the deputy prime minister was named in the question as one of a three-man team alongside Cameron and Osborne. | One bright light for the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, was that the government's lead over Labour on the economy widened by several points if the deputy prime minister was named in the question as one of a three-man team alongside Cameron and Osborne. |
| Perhaps the most striking finding in the poll was that 22% of those questioned said they were more favourably disposed towards the Conservative party as a whole than towards its leader, compared with 18% saying the opposite – the first time this has happened in the series of Ashcroft surveys over the past few years. | Perhaps the most striking finding in the poll was that 22% of those questioned said they were more favourably disposed towards the Conservative party as a whole than towards its leader, compared with 18% saying the opposite – the first time this has happened in the series of Ashcroft surveys over the past few years. |
| Despite some grumbling from backbenchers, Cameron has generally been viewed by Tories as an electoral asset because he has consistently outpolled the party on public popularity. | Despite some grumbling from backbenchers, Cameron has generally been viewed by Tories as an electoral asset because he has consistently outpolled the party on public popularity. |
| Writing on the ConservativeHome website, Ashcroft said: "The prime minister's Europe speech [in January] was supposed to clear the decks and allow us to talk about the things we were elected to do. So much for all that. My poll shows the last six months have been a missed opportunity to make progress on all the things that will determine who wins in 2015 … This is the price we have paid for spending half a year talking amongst ourselves." | Writing on the ConservativeHome website, Ashcroft said: "The prime minister's Europe speech [in January] was supposed to clear the decks and allow us to talk about the things we were elected to do. So much for all that. My poll shows the last six months have been a missed opportunity to make progress on all the things that will determine who wins in 2015 … This is the price we have paid for spending half a year talking amongst ourselves." |
| For the Tories, the first half of the year was "a time of stagnation that we could hardly afford", said the Tory peer, adding: "The spending review later this month makes it all the more necessary to show we are doing what people expect of us. There is no more time to waste." | For the Tories, the first half of the year was "a time of stagnation that we could hardly afford", said the Tory peer, adding: "The spending review later this month makes it all the more necessary to show we are doing what people expect of us. There is no more time to waste." |
| The poll found that only 28% of voters see the Conservatives as united, against 48% for Labour. Some 38% trusted Cameron and Osborne to manage the economy, compared with 33% for Miliband and Balls. But 40% trusted Cameron, Osborne and Clegg with the economy, against 26% for the Labour team, suggesting that the Lib Dem influence on the coalition's economic policy is welcomed by voters. | The poll found that only 28% of voters see the Conservatives as united, against 48% for Labour. Some 38% trusted Cameron and Osborne to manage the economy, compared with 33% for Miliband and Balls. But 40% trusted Cameron, Osborne and Clegg with the economy, against 26% for the Labour team, suggesting that the Lib Dem influence on the coalition's economic policy is welcomed by voters. |
| Of those questioned, 24% said they were satisfied with the job Cameron was doing as PM, and a further 33% said they were dissatisfied but would prefer to have him in Downing Street than Miliband. Only 30% would rather see the Labour leader in No 10. | |
| When it came to predicting the result of the next election, 40% said they expected a Labour government, while 29% forecast a Conservative government, 13% another Conservative/Lib-Dem coalition and 18% a Labour/Lib-Dem pact. | |
| • Some 2,060 adults were interviewed online and 1,007 by telephone between 31 May and 2 June. | • Some 2,060 adults were interviewed online and 1,007 by telephone between 31 May and 2 June. |