New polling data, conducted 15-22nd October 2026, shows Labour taking a 8-point lead over their nearest rival. This time that is the Conservatives rather than Reform UK.
MORI's monthly poll for The Times published last week received a lot of attention and secondary reporting, mostly concentrating on the four-point drop in the Conservative voting intention share, to its lowest level since April. But the finding that may be by far the most politically significant was much less widely reported. Over the last four months there has been what may amount to a sea-change in the attitudes of Labour supporters to voting. One reading of the figures would suggest it may presage the difference between significant Tory gains that may secure William Hague's position to fight a second election, and another Labour landslide.
Across the country as I write, schoolchildren are receiving the examination results that assess their performance over the last couple of years in each of the subjects. (Well, except in Scotland, but that is a different story.) It seems an appropriate point at which to draw up a similar report card for the government. In which policy areas does the public feel it has passed, and in which has it failed? Or rather, since "value added" seems to be the preferred benchmark these days, in which policy areas has it improved its standing since it was elected, and in which has it lost out? And, for those issues where the Opposition has scored hits, has the result merely been to damage Labour credibility or also to convince the electorate that the Conservatives (or, indeed, Liberal Democrats) might do a better job?
For much of the time, far more attention is paid to attracting the support of young voters, especially first-time voters, than is paid to attracting the votes of those who have retired. There is a superficial attraction to this: after all, young voters are generally less strongly attached to their party allegiances - if, indeed, they have any at all - and ought to be easier to swing. If their loyalties can be captured at a young age, perhaps they will subsequently offer their party a lifetime of voting service.
Professor Robert Mackenzie was once quoted as saying that he enjoyed election nights in the same way other people enjoyed the Cup Final. New research for the June-July 2000 edition of British Public Opinion newsletter suggests that there is more to this remark than meets the eye.
Poll on satisfaction with Labour government: I am going to read out a list of public figures and will ask you if you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the way
they are doing their job. If you have not heard of them, please say so...Gordon Brown, Tony Blair etc.
