Confidence in Ed Miliband hits rock bottom as Labour leader prepares for key speech
A mere 13 per cent of the public think Ed Miliband is cut out to be the next Prime Minister, a further crushing blow to the Labour leader following a week of unrest and infighting within his party.
The polling, published as Miliband seeks to galvanise his MPs with a speech about his values in London today, also revealed that 58 per cent of Labour supporters are dissatisfied with his leadership so far.
Just 23 per cent of people asked by pollster Ipsos Mori think Labour is ready to form the next government, down from 35 per cent of respondents who said yes to the same question in June.
Overall, when asked how they would vote if there was a general election tomorrow, 32 per cent of those asked plumped for David Cameron and the Conservatives, with Labour trailing three points behind on 29 per cent. Tellingly, support for smaller parties was also up, with the Greens polling seven per cent, Liberal Democrats nine per cent and Nigel Farage’s Ukip on 14 per cent of the vote.
The Labour leader is set to make a key speech to party members this lunchtime, in which he will argue that Britain “only works for the privileged few, not for most people”. He is expected to speak out strongly against Ukip and implore his party to remain focused on the prize of winning the election next year. Speaking at Senate House, he will also blame the financial crisis for the government’s huge deficit.