General Election 2010: Lib Dem surge threatens Tories

Published on Saturday 17 April 2010 20:59

DAVID Cameron was forced to issue a dire warning about the dangers of a hung parliament yesterday as he battled to confront the spectacular poll gains made by the Lib Dems that are threatening his prospects of election victory.

The Conservative leader used a stump speech yesterday to suggest that parliament would be filled with a "bunch of politicians, haggling not deciding" if the Lib Dems won enough seats to hold the balance of power after 6 May.

The Tory fears emerged as a new poll for Scotland on Sunday confirms that the UK's third party has enjoyed an unprecedented bounce following last week's TV debate, with support among Scots rocketing overnight by 5 percentage points.

Cameron's warnings prompted taunts from opponents last night that the Tory campaign was "panicking", as evidence emerged that the increasing support for the Lib Dems, if maintained over the next 18 days, will dash Cameron's hopes for a parliamentary majority.

Further UK-wide polls, published today, show that the Lib Dems have made huge gains in the wake of the TV debate last week, taking support from both the Tories and Labour.

A BPIX survey gave the Lib Dems an overall lead, having soared 12 points over the past week to 32 per cent. The Tories were down seven points on 31 per cent while Labour dropped three to 28 per cent.

A ComRes poll showed an eight point increase in support for the Lib Dems since Wednesday.

A YouGov pollfound that the Lib Dems had gained 11 points over the past week, reaching 29 per cent.

ICM research suggested the Lib Dems were up seven points since Tuesday, on 27 per cent. Labour was two points higher on 29 per cent with the Conservatives in the lead on 34 per cent.

While Labour is currently behind the Lib Dems in public support, the voting system means that, if their surge is maintained, Labour still could end up with the most seats. Labour strategists are now privately talking up the prospect of a post-election deal under which Clegg would back Labour on important votes in return for a reform of the voting system.

Cameron is coming under increasing pressure from within his party to tear up his preparations for the debates and to take the fight to his Labour and Liberal opponents when they meet again on Thursday.

Yesterday, the Conservative leader avoided mentioning the Lib Dems by name, but during a speech in Gloucester he highlighted the dangers of a hung parliament.

He warned: "A hung parliament would be a bunch of politicians haggling, not deciding. They would be fighting for their own interests not fighting for your interests. They would not be making long-term decisions for the country's future, they would be making short-term decisions for their own future."

The message was reinforced by shadow chancellor George Osborne, who said: Gordon Brown was "sinking – and clinging to the Lib Dems as his life-raft".

Clegg yesterday sought to maintain the momentum handed to him by the debates.

Speaking to activists in Sheffield he said: "I think more and more people are turning away from the old politics, turning away from Labour and the Conservatives, turning away from the assumption that all we need to do is keep repeating the patterns of the past. If a growing number of people do that then the possibilities of doing things differently really are huge."

The Scotland on Sunday poll today provides yet more evidence of the dramatic increase in Clegg's popularity.

Before the debate only 35 per cent of Scots thought he was doing a good job, the poll found, but afterwards, that figure rose to 57 per cent.

Clegg's approval rating of +34, following the debate, is now way ahead of his rivals.

Cameron's warning about a hung parliament was criticised by the SNP last night, which argues that such an outcome would be the best result for Scotland.

Alex Salmond said: "David Cameron is in a blue funk over the prospects of his election victory being taken away from him. No amount of panicky foot stamping from Cameron is going to change the fact that people are turned off by the prospect of business as usual at Westminster while Westminster stands in total disrepute."

Cameron was also taunted by Lord Mandelson. In a memo to activists, the Labour peer wrote: "This confusion at the heart of the Tory machine reflects the disarray they are in following Thursday's debate."