Our monthly surveys tend to include a few questions about Coalition with the Lib Dems. Whenever I’ve looked at the responses before – e.g. here and here – it’s striking how consistent party members’ views have been. They’re not quite slatheringly affectionate about Nick Clegg and his party, but neither are they sliding towards antipathy as the election approaches.
This consistency continues with the latest survey, and then some. A couple of the usual Coalition-related questions – such as “when should it end?” – were removed from this month’s line-up, but there still remains evidence that attitudes towards the union are actually warming with the spring weather. Almost 65 per cent of respondents agree that the Coalition is good for the nation, which is the highest ever proportion. 37 per cent agree that it is good for the Tories, another record-high.
These numbers are a sort of addendum to Paul’s earlier post on post-election coalitions. Whether it’s a pragmatic acceptance of electoral conditions, or a something a bit more romantic than that, Tory voters don’t appear to totally hate life with the Lib Dems, after all.