ComRes compare Labour leaders
A new ComRes poll for the Independent has topline voting intention figures of CON 44%(-2), LAB 25%(nc), LDEM 17%(+1). Full tables are here.
ComRes also asked a series of questions on how people would vote with alternate leaders of the Labour party.
With Jack Straw or David Miliband voting intention would be practically identical with a Tory lead of 19 (though it isn't strictly comparable since the standard voting intention question isn't prompted with Gordon Brown's name - such is his unpopularity I expect adding his name to the standard voting intention question to make it comparable to these would see Labour do much worse). Alan Johnson would do worse, producing a Tory lead of 21, while Ed Balls or Harriet Harman would be worse of all - producing a Tory lead of 22. The only leader who would cut the lead is Tony Blair, who is hardly likely to come back!
As I said yesterday, these questions probably have little predictive value. We don't they don't predict the short term bounce a leader might actually receive and - with the possible exception of Jack Straw - people don't know these politicians well enough to really make a good guess of what they might be like as premier and how they might react to it. The figures are, however, important for the effect they have on the political narrative and likely the views of many Labour MPs.
ComRes also asked a question on whther people liked the Labour party, Gordon Brown, both or neither. The 36% of people who liked the Labour party, included only 16% of people said they liked Gordon Brown. Only 8% of people liked Brown, but not Labour.
