YouGov/Sun - CON 33, LAB 40, LD 10, UKIP 11

This morning's YouGov poll in the Sun had topline figures of CON 33%, LAB 40%, LDEM 10%, UKIP 11%. I wasn't going to write anything because - at end of the day, there are only so many ways you can write "within the normal margin of error of YouGov's recent polling". However, with the New Statesman asking "What Lies behind Labour's Shrinking Poll Lead?" and coming up with answers more exciting than "normal sample variation" I should probably put pixel to page.

For what it is worth the seven point Labour lead from YouGov is the lowest they have shown for a couple of months, and it comes after an eight point lead yesterday. I would still caution people to hold on a sec before looking around for reasons why Labour's lead might be falling - there is not yet anything here that needs an explanation beyond "normal sample variation". There was also a 14 point lead last week, and that too was within the normal margin of error. The dull and rather unnewsworthy truth is that unlike the polling rollercoaster of the last Parliament, this Parliament has seen very stable polls. While both main parties have declined a bit over recent months as UKIP have advanced, the Labour lead over the Conservatives really hasn't seen any significant lasting change since April 2012.

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