Lib Dem slump

Liberal Democrat support has slumped to its lowest level since the start of the general election campaign as voters protest that the party has lost its voice in the coalition government.A ComRes poll for The Independent finds that backing for Nick Clegg’s party has fallen to just 16 per cent, its worst showing since early April. It also found that almost three-quarters of the public says it does not know what the Liberal Democrats stand for any longer. The survey puts the Conservatives on 39 per cent, down one point since the last ComRes survey for The Independent on 28 June. – The Independent

What does stand out is the 12 point share for others – SNP/PC/GRN/UKIP/BNP – which is in marked contrast to what YouGov has been reporting. In one recent survey it had the total for the five parties at just five points. It’s having fewer points for others and a much lower LD figure which is behind YouGov’s highish shares for the Tories and Labour. Even though it has the lowest ComRes share for the LDs since early April tonight’s poll will be viewed with a sense of relief by the yellows after watching their YouGov total drop to 12 points at the start of last week. – Political Betting

Tories suffer in Scotland

Labour claimed last night that Scottish voters had firmly rejected the Conservatives’ planned public-service cuts after a poll showed a slump in Tory support in Scotland. The party also accused the Conservatives of revealing their true colours at the weekend with proposals to scrap free school milk in nurseries, later dramatically dropped. Poll findings, exclusively revealed by The Herald, showed that Tory support in Scotland has crumbled in recent weeks, amid David Cameron’s warnings of difficult decisions on spending. – The Herald

The David and Ed show

THE rivalry between Labour leader hopefuls David and Ed Miliband is to be examined in a new drama-documentary. The More4 film will focus on the brothers’ family background, boyhood and climb up the greasy pole of politics. It is due to air on September 24, the night before the leadership result is announced. – The Sun

Lords back Miliband Snr

LABOUR peers have helped bolster South Shields MP David Miliband’s bid for the party leadership. Seventy of the Labour party’s big hitters have signed a letter stating that the shadow foreign secretary is the only man who can prevent Labour from staying out of power for more than a decade. They include former Home Secretary Lord Reid, former Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, and Lord Falconer, the former Lord Chancellor. – The Shields Gazette

Voting reform

At present, the only party that will campaign wholeheartedly for AV is the Liberal Democrats, who raised only £3.7m in total in party donations in 2009 – much less than the upper limit for the referendum campaign. Labour, despite the pro-reform sentiments of some senior figures, is planning to vote against the bill on the basis that it will also introduce smaller constituency boundaries. In private, some Labour MPs admit that they would like to see the proposals rejected because this would destabilise the coalition. And while the Tory leadership may take only a low-key role in the anti-AV campaign, many backbench MPs are already campaigning against AV. – The FT

Tags: AV, Labour leadeship, Liberal Democrats, Tories

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