The pressure at a party conference during a leadership election is to come up with lots of eye catching ideas that appeal to activists. But particularly among former Conservative voters, having a less divided party is seen as an even more important success criteria than vision.
An electoral risk according to @luketryl.bsky.social for 2 or 3 reasons. Would appeal to Reform voters, but would be unpopular in Blue Wall. [Can't we call it the Yellow Wall now]. But bigger issue is it seems the wrong thing to give salience too, and for many too much a revival of Brexit divides
š After some tough headlines this week the Starmer slide in approval has continued. His net approval now sits at -27, roughly the same level as Rishi Sunak was at when he called the election and a fall of 38 points since July.
Thought occurs that since 1970, only two elections have had the same dynamic in terms of party competition as the one that came before (1987 and 2001).
š Mid Conference season voting intention shows not very much has changed in September. Labourās lead remains at 4 points. š¹LAB 30% (+1), š³CON 26% (+1) ā”ļøREF UK 18% (NC) š¶LIB DEM 13% (-1) šGRN 8% (NC) š”SNP 3% (NC) 24-25/9 Change with 10-12/9 n= 2080
I'm taking part in a More in Common fringe about the ECHR at the Conservative Party conference on Sunday. Interested to hear which arguments about ECHR membership could prove relevant/persuasive to those Conservatives (from MPs/members to voters) who feel sceptical/cross-pressured about this
āIām picking up bad vibesā was how someone in our Hendon focus group described the new Government. Others who had backed Labour in July called the govt ādisappointingā & ālacklusterā. Iāve written for The Guardian about why theyāre so far unimpressed. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Widespread opposition to winter fuel payments cut but some are perplexed by furore over freebies for ministers
Thinking about Starmerās messaging I keep coming back to a quote from our focus groups this week āHeās come out and he said, Iām not here to be Mr Popular, why not? Why not try and be popularā Think it hints at whatās missing and the public donāt just want another 2010
On Thursday we ran 3 focus groups with loyal Labour voters, voters who switched to Labour in 2024 & those who previously backed Labour but didnāt last time asking how the government is doing. This piece takes a look at what they had to say about the freebie story. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Really excited for More in Common's biggest ever programme of events at Labour Party Conference and hope to see many of you there. š§µFull details š www.moreincommon.org.uk/events/labou...
Check out More in Common's Party Conference Events Programme 2024