Shock poll: voters reject ‘New Labour’ policies


by Newswire    
September 4, 2010 at 9:30 am

Tony Blair’s claim that his party was defeated at the polls because it ignored his concerns about “departing a millimetre from New Labour” has been undermined by new polling evidence showing that this stance is rejected by a clear majority of uncommitted voters.

A survey for YouGov found that 72% of undecided voters said they would be less likely to vote Labour at the next election if the new leader adopts the New Labour philosophy advocated by the former prime minister this week as he was promoting his memoirs.

The poll was commissioned by Ed Miliband, and tonight he welcomed the findings, which also suggest that his policies on the 50p rate of tax, on Iraq and on tuition fees are more likely to attract voters to the party at the next election than the position on these issues adopted by the favourite to win the leadership contest, his brother David.

In a poll of nearly 3,000 adults carried out this week, YouGov asked respondents if they would be more or less likely to vote Labour at the next election if the new leader were to pledge to “not move a millimetre from the New Labour approach followed by Tony Blair”.

Nine per cent of respondents said that this approach would make them more likely to vote Labour, 23% said it would make them less likely to vote Labour and the rest said it would make no difference – either because they definitely would or would not vote Labour anyway, or because they did not know.

…more at The Guardian


---------------------------
     


About the author

· Other posts by
Filed under
News


16 Comments || Add yours below

  • We have a tight comments policy aimed at fostering constructive debate.
  • We believe in free speech but not your right to abuse our space.
  • Abusive, sarcastic or silly comments may be deleted.
  • Misogynist, racist, homophobic and xenophobic comments will be deleted.
  • Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy.


Reader comments


So have all the New Labour leadership candidates rejected the New Labour manifesto full of New Labour policies that they were elected onto in May of this year? Thought not.

Another ‘shock’ poll from YouGov:
http://today.yougov.co.uk/sites/today.yougov.co.uk/files/YG-Archives-Pol-Sun-Blair-010910.pdf

“To get back into power Labour need to distance themselves as much as possible from the legacy of Tony Blair’s government”
30% all voters agree

“Tony Blair did a lot right and won three elections – it would be a mistake for Labour to turn its back on his legacy”
34% all voters agree

Polls: you pays your money and takes your choice…

Were they asked how important it was to distance themselves from the Brown government?

The wording on this question is painfully biased.

YouGov asked respondents if they would be more or less likely to vote Labour at the next election if the new leader were to pledge to “not move a millimetre from the New Labour approach followed by Tony Blair”.

Sure, it reflects a (stupidly, obviously overstated) Blair quote from earlier in the week, but that doesn’t mean it’s a fair way of assessing what people think of his approach.

I’d happily see the words ‘Blair’, ‘Brown’, ‘Mandelson’ and ‘New Labour’ consigned to the bin, but a poll question this manifestly skewed doesn’t suggest much self-confidence in the Ed Miliband camp.

I am betting this poll will not get the front page exposure that polls commissioned to show that “voters back the coalition’s cuts” do.

Agreed Tom.

A poll that suggests no flexibility in one of the options is obviously skewed towards the other option – and the deliberate association of unspecified policy agendas with an unpopular figure does likewise.

Fact is people don’t know what the legacy of blair is or what policies that means or whether they think those policies are good or bad. They just know they don’t much like mr blair.

Well – the poll is simply quoting Tony Blair…

8. Chaise Guevara

“Well – the poll is simply quoting Tony Blair…”

…who isn’t a candidate in the leadership contest. Yes, it’s using the phrasing he used in the recent BBC interview, and so can be seen as a judgment on his (now relatively irrelevant) viewpoint, but it doesn’t really have much bearing on the contest, which is presumably what Ed M is interested it. And it certain doesn’t translate into “voters reject ‘New Labour’ policies”.

This site really is pretty tabloidy in its tendency to create stories out of thin air.

@8

Hm Blair might not be standing in the leadership contest but it’s a screaming dog-whistle to vote David Miliband when he talks about Labour not moving “a millimetre from the New Labour approach”… it’s pretty obvs that D’Mil is the continuity candidate as far as the Third Way/Nouvelle Labour is concerned. Unsurprisingly the pro-Iraq war Observor haved backed him…

10. Chaise Guevara

@9

Yes, that’s fair, and I guess it depends on how closely people equate Blair and D. Milliband in the end. However, I still reject this piece’s title.

@4 Tom

“I’d happily see the words ‘Blair’, ‘Brown’, ‘Mandelson’ and ‘New Labour’ consigned to the bin, but a poll question this manifestly skewed doesn’t suggest much self-confidence in the Ed Miliband camp.”

I agree with what some other posters have said about the dangers of setting too much store by this kind of polling. However you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. The issue for the current leadership candidates is not just how to get elected, but (more importantly in the long term) how to attract back those who deserted NuLabour.

As many of us us always suspected, this isn’t going to be done by “not moving a millimetre from NuLabour”…. quite the reverse in fact! The problem for those who want to see a radical, progressive alternative to the nauseating NuLabour project is that NONE of the current leadership are articulating anything which makes you believe they have either repented of their past folly, no indeed come up with anything which makes them worth supporting in the future.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    Shock poll: voters reject 'New Labour' policies http://bit.ly/bJFCRM

  2. Jon Gregan

    Shock poll: voters reject ‘New Labour’ policies | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/954Fk9q via @libcon

  3. Naadir Jeewa

    Reading: Shock poll: voters reject ‘New Labour’ policies: Tony Blair’s claim that his party was defeated at the po… http://bit.ly/9WiG4O

  4. Parlez~me~'n~Tory

    RT @JonGregan: Shock poll: voters reject ‘New Labour’ policies | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/954Fk9q via @libcon

  5. Jamie Dowling

    RT @Parlez_me_nTory: RT @JonGregan: Shock poll: voters reject ‘New Labour’ policies | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/954Fk9q via @libcon





  • We have a tight comments policy aimed at fostering constructive debate.
  • We believe in free speech but not your right to abuse our space.
  • Abusive, sarcastic or silly comments may be deleted.
  • Misogynist, racist, homophobic and xenophobic comments will be deleted.
  • Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy.

 
Liberal Conspiracy is the UK's most popular left-of-centre politics blog. Our aim is to re-vitalise the liberal-left through discussion and action. More about us here.

You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
RECENT OPINION ARTICLES




90 Comments



15 Comments



17 Comments



26 Comments



42 Comments



21 Comments



13 Comments



51 Comments



11 Comments



78 Comments



LATEST COMMENTS
» gastro george posted on Dorries says Osborne wanted Lansley "shot"

» Sally posted on Dorries says Osborne wanted Lansley "shot"

» Sally posted on Media finally expose problems over the NHS Bill

» Bob B posted on Media finally expose problems over the NHS Bill

» NHS London risk register exposes Tory threat to healthcare « Mike Sivier posted on The NHS London Risk Register that exposes Lansley

» Cherub posted on Dorries says Osborne wanted Lansley "shot"

» John Dyer posted on Media finally expose problems over the NHS Bill

» liane gomersall posted on Media finally expose problems over the NHS Bill

» liane gomersall posted on The NHS London Risk Register that exposes Lansley

» Carrie JS posted on Media finally expose problems over the NHS Bill

» Carrie JS posted on Media finally expose problems over the NHS Bill

» liane gomersall posted on Dorries says Osborne wanted Lansley "shot"

» Michael Connor Hawk posted on Media finally expose problems over the NHS Bill

» Michael Connor Hawk posted on Media finally expose problems over the NHS Bill

» Claire posted on Media finally expose problems over the NHS Bill