7 October 2022 – for immediate release
LABOUR’s lead over the Conservatives has stretched to 32 points, the latest GB News opinion poll has found.
The figure is two points up from a week ago, putting Labour on 52% and Conservatives static on 20%.
Commenting, Matthew Goodwin, professor of politics at the University of Kent, said: “The Conservative vote is imploding before our eyes.
“There is no evidence at all, so far, that Liz Truss and the Conservatives, despite their conference, have managed to close the gap with Labour. Sir Keir Starmer and Labour still hold a commanding lead while the Conservatives are only holding around 40 per cent of the people who voted for Boris Johnson in 2019”.
“It is clear that a plurality of people blame the government for the current economic turmoil, which underlines the extent to which it has lost the narrative. A larger number of people blame the government rather than global events, including the war in Ukraine”.
Lib Dems were down to 8% from 9%, Greens were down a point also to 7%, and the SNP was unchanged on 5%.
The poll also asked people if they support holding an early General Election this year or next, and 49% of respondents said they supported this.
Asked if state benefit payments should increase in line with inflation, 57% agreed that they should.
On what they think is responsible for the current economic turmoil in the UK, 44% blamed the government, 26% said it was global events, and 9% said it was energy companies.
People were also asked if police officers should be neutral or allowed to make political gestures – 58% said police should stay neutral, and 16% said they should be free to express their views.
“Given [Metropolitan Police Service commissioner] Mark Rowley’s comments about the need to reassert a more politically neutral police force, we tested this position and found that it enjoys widespread public support,” said Professor Goodwin.
“Almost 60% of the country want the policy to remain politically neutral while only a small minority think the police should be free to make political gestures, such as ‘taking the knee’.”
The poll was conducted by People Polling for GB News and surveyed 1,512 adults on 6 October.
