Opinion Poll News

This confirms what I heard yesterday:

"The Ken v Boris battle in London is a key one for the parties but it is also a big test for pollsters as the capital’s diverse population is proving hard to read...According to a mayoral poll for The Sunday Times by Mruk Cello today, the contest is too close to call. On first preferences Ken Livingstone polled 44%, followed by Boris Johnson on 43% and Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat on 9%. When second preferences were assigned, Livingstone got 51%, Johnson 49%. Livingstone leads Johnson on strong leadership (53%-26%), public transport (50%-29%) and housing (39%-27%). Johnson is ahead on crime reduction (36%-32%). The poll suggests Livingstone is doing better than his party, Johnson worse. The Tories overall have a nine-point lead among London voters."

I think the crime reduction figure is the most interesting: Johnson, if memory serves, isn't as far ahead as in previous surveys.

Also in the Sunday Times is a leader favouring Johnson that is less crude than that in its daily counterpart yesterday but makes an equally unconvincing case. It too barely mentions Johnson's policies and only does this to make the point that they aren't very memorable. It too says that Livingstone hasn't been so bad, but reckons it's time for a change anyway. Tone apart, the two leaders are remarkably similar, almost as if written - or ghost-written - by the same person. A person called Rupert, possibly.