Labour’s Ed Miliband problem

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By Matthew Barrett
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Labour enjoy a lead in the polls at the moment. The latest poll, for example, gives them a 7 point lead, with the full percentages at: Labour: 42 / Conservatives: 35 / Lib Dems: 10.

But as Scotland showed, poll leads can be overturned quickly during a campaign. One liability for Labour going into a campaign is their leader. His poll ratings indicate people simply don’t think of him as Prime Minister-material. The most recent polls on the subject from the big five pollsters are as follows:

ICM (pdf): Only 30% said Ed Miliband was doing a “good job” as Labour leader.
ComRes: Only 22% think Miliband is a good leader of his party
YouGov (pdf): Only 25% think Miliband is “up to the job”, 45% say he is “not up to the job”
Populus (pdf): When asked to choose three terms to describe Ed Miliband, only 10% chose “up to the job”
Ipsos-MORI: Only 17% think Miliband is ready to be Prime Minister

That Ipsos-MORI poll, above, is the most recent – which indicates he is looking less, and not more, like a Prime Minister as his time in office goes on.