YouGov/Sunday Times - CON 35, LAB 42, LD 9, UKIP 7
This week's YouGov poll for the Sunday Times is up on the YouGov website here. Topline figures are CON 35%, LAB 42%, LD 9%, UKIP 7%, at the lower end of the normal YouGov range but probably just normal margin of error.
The regular approval ratings for the party leaders are David Cameron minus 19 (from minus 16 last week), Ed Miliband minus 23 (from minus 16 last week), Nick Clegg minus 53 (unchanged). Miliband's post conference boost is slowly unwinding, although he is still above the minus 29 figure he had pre-conference. The regular economic trackers have also fallen slightly since the post-GDP peak a week ago, but are still better than they had been for many months.
Asked about how they see David Cameron, perceptions have actually improved slightly since YouGov last asked. The proportion of people thinking he is strong is up 4 to 37% (48% weak, down 3), the proportion thinking he is competent is up 5 since July at 42% (incompetent 46%, down 3). His biggest weakness remains being out of touch (67% see him as out of touch, only 24% in touch). This is slightly counterintuitive given Cameron just suffered a Commons defeat, but remember we've also had the party conference since YouGov last asked these questions.
Asked if Cameron or his backbenchers are more in touch with ordinary people, 25% think Conservative backbenchers are the more in touch, 11% think Cameron is. 45% of people think neither of them are. The Conservative party is also increasingly seen as divided - only 14% now view them as a united party, down from 18% when YouGov asked a year ago. In contrast the Labour party are now seen as a united party by 40% of people, up 15 since last year.
Turning to the specific issue of Europe, 38% of people say they trust David Cameron a lot (10%) or a little (28%) to look after Britain's interests in Europe. 54% do not trust him much or at all. This is a sharp fall since YouGov last asked the same question straight after his "veto" in December 2011 when 51% of people said they trusted him. While a majority of people don't trust Cameron to stand up for Britain in Europe, he is rated more highly than the other two party leaders - asked who they would most trust to look after Britain's interests in Europe Cameron leads Miliband by 25% to 18%. 40% of people, however, say they wouldn't trust any of the party leaders to look after Britain's interests.
On this week's US elections, 76% of British people think that Barack Obama has done a very good or fairly good job as President. If they had a vote in the US election 70% of respondents say they would vote for Obama to only 7% for Romney. While British Conservatives are less likely to support Obama than Labour or Lib Dem supporters, even there Obama's support is overwhelming - Tory supporters would back Obama by 68% to 12% for Romney.
