A series of polls conducted to mark the coalition's first 100 days bring bad news for the Liberal Democrats, with one survey suggesting their support has slumped to just eight per cent.
On Wednesday David Cameron will have been prime minister for 100 days, but while support for the Conservative Party appears to be holding steady or improving, their coalition partner is faring less well.
A survey conducted by Sky News has found that while 43 per cent of those asked would back the Conservatives if an election was held today, just eight per cent would vote Lib Dem, while 24 per cent said they would vote for Labour.
And a separate survey carried out by Ipsos-MORI suggests that Conservative supporters are becoming more satisfied with the government over time, while Liberal Democrat supporters are becoming increasingly dissatisfied.
It found that Lib Dem support has dropped to 14 per cent, while support for the Tories has risen to 40 per cent.
And while David Cameron's personal rating has risen to 55 per cent, higher than his ratings when in opposition, Nick Clegg's personal rating has dropped to 47 per cent from a peak of nearly 70 per cent at the time of the election.
The poll also contains good news for George Osborne, finding him to be the most popular Conservative chancellor since the question was first asked in 1976.
But while Ipsos-MORI found the coalition to have the highest poll rating one hundred days into its term than any government since 1979, with the exception of Tony Blair's Labour in 1997, a separate survey by YouGov found only 14 per cent expect it to survive more than four years.
An analysis of the coalition's first 100 days as seen on Twitter also found that "sentiment" around the Conservative Party has remained stable, while sentiment around the Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg has dropped sharply.
The report published by Tweetminster found that a "disproportionately high number" of posts and media stories shared on Twitter about the government centre around the prime minister.
It suggested that the "media narrative" and conversations on Twitter largely revolve around Cameron.
But schools, the BP oil spill, Afghanistan and Iraq, jobs, cuts and the 'Big Society' have been amongst the most mentioned topics.
The report found that BBC News was the most influential media outlet on Twitter, followed by the Guardian and Reuters.
However many individuals make up the top 20, including Tony Blair's former communications director Alastair Campbell who takes fourth place and comedian Armando Iannucci, the creator of BBC political satire The Thick of It, who is 17th.
Article Comments
Why have you not mentioned the Daily Mirror poll which gives a different and less favourable view of the Brokeback Coalition first 100 days? For my part, I am both angry and fearful if the remainder of their time in government is conducted in the same over-hasty "baby out with the bathwater" way. They make claims for pretty well all of their policy initiatives which are not supported by robust and objective evidence. I can understand Tory supporters being happy as we in effect a Tory government but I am amazed that there appears to be so many others who have not yet sussed the direction and effects of these "born again" Thatcherites.
Sean Jennings
18th Aug 2010 at 5:08 pm
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.