Was Brown not Chancellor for 10 years and PM for 3? Did Labour not have plenty of opportunities to reform the banking system? Indeed, didn't Brown create the FSA to do just that? an FSA which proved as useful as a wet paper bag in practice!

It is no good blaming the Tories when they have been out of office since 1997 - they handed over a thriving economy and a good fiscal situation to Labour, which Brown subsequently squandered.

Interesting how ComRes and ICM seem to get bigger Lib Dem numbers. Tories rock steady which should please them at this stage in the parliament. They seem to have won the cuts argument and most swing voters have swallowed  the "we must clean up the mess left behind" line. Of course, the fact that the Tories supported the bank bailout and foreign wars which in part led to the large increase in deficit ( on top of the deep global recession) is beside the point now,

If the economy grows steadily and unemployment falls, the Tories will win a second term easily and Ed Miliband will be replaced with Yvette Cooper in 2015. That's my long  term prediction at the moment

 

Populus/Times

Con 39% (+2) Lab 40% (+1) Lib-Dem 9% (-2) Lab Lead 1%

This is the Lib-Dems lowest share ever with Populus.

My gut feeling was always that the Tories would win a second term unless the economy tanks. Voters generally don't kick out a govt after one term unless things get really bad. Even if David Miliband was in charge, labour's fortunes would not be much better.

Edited by user 13 June 2011 20:44:47(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified