Clegg scores negative ratings for first time


9:40 am - October 18th 2010

by Sunny Hundal    


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The personal approval ratings of David Cameron and Nick Clegg have both taken a battering according to a Sunday Times / YouGov poll published yesterday.

David Cameron is now only at +11, while Nick Clegg is now at -6.

It is the first time the latter has registered a negative approval score since the general election, says Anthony Wells.

Ed Miliband has the highest approval rating of the three party leaders, but remains largely undefined in the eyes of the public (42% don’t knows). It suggests attempts by right-wing media to frame him negatively have failed so far.

The poll asked voters whether the government are running the economy well or badly. 42% thought they were doing well, 45% thought they are doing badly.

YouGov’s Anthony Wells says that is also the first negative score on the economy since the election.

YouGov also asked who people think will bear the biggest burden from the cuts. 48% said middle-income people compared to only 35% who said people on low incomes.
More on the poll here.

* * * * * * * *

There was more depressing reading for Libdem activists over at LibdemVoice this weekend too.

A poll of party activists found 35% said they remained an enthusiastic party member, but were “angry” with the party leadership. A slightly larger proportion at 45% said simply they were enthusiastic party members.

But as many as 20% said they had “little or no enthusiasm” as party members or were seriously considering resigning from the party.

The full resuls of that poll are here.

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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments


1. Tony F

Having a Conservative-ish leader (Tony Blair) got the Labour Party into power for three terms, admittedly at a price of several of its principles. Having a Conservative-ish leader (Nick Clegg) has delivered the LibDems somewhere else. We did not win the election. Although we have power and influence in the Coalition, at the current rate of progress this power and influence will never achieve any of our major LibDem goals of a fair society – schools where we waved through Gove’s reforms without full debate – universities where we waved through big increases in tuition fees – Trident will be next.

Victoria Coren had it right in the Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/17/victoria-coren-nick-clegg-greer-jacobson

2. Ted

No surprises here. The Conservatives won the election, Lib-Dems are there for top-up reasons only. Well done to those who think badly of Mr Clegg – me too.

It is however comforting to know that most ordinary Conservative voters are severely unhappy also ! They certainly didn’t get what they voted for.

What really annoys me now, lots of Local Authorities have both political groups being nice to each other by awarding Chair positions to opposition councillors. A sort of undeclared ‘coalition’ if you like ?

That of course is the height of political hypocrisy but one dare not upset one’s real masters in Parliament dare one ! (scuse me, pukey feeling coming over).

Never mind, next May’s local elections will weed out the rot when the public start looking more closely at these cosy arrangements at local level.

3. Mark

Thre Lid Dems sold us out ive voted Lib Dem for years but wont again…..


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
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  6. Ceri Williams

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  12. Cory Hazlehurst

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  13. Humphrey Cushion

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  16. NUS Student Media

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  17. Peter D Cox

    Nick Clegg no longer the nation's pretty boy http://ow.ly/2V1N1 Popularity plunges to minus 6. #ConDems cumuppance

  18. Lisa Ansell

    RT @peterdcox: Nick Clegg no longer the nation's pretty boy http://ow.ly/2V1N1 Popularity plunges to minus 6. #ConDems cumuppance

  19. Fran

    @caramboo Also, you can console yourself with the knowledge that everyone hates Nick Clegg http://bit.ly/d2BupI

  20. Andy Sutherland

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