ComRes poll boost for Lib Dems - but the rest are as bad as each other

I'm certainly not going to get excited about a brief 3% increase in our poll rating, even if 15% is nearer where we have been in mid term even in opposition in previous parliaments. The ComRes poll in the Independent published today, though, doesn't make happy reading for either Conservative or Labour leaders.

Ok, so only 22% of people trust Cameron and Osborne on the economy, but they don't see Balls and Miliband as the answer to their prayers either, with only 2% more trusting the Labour team. If they can't get any traction from the luxury of opposition, they're not doing at all well. Maybe people remember only too well that they didn't fix the roof when the sun was shining and didn't save for a rainy day.

What can the Liberal Democrats extrapolate from this poll? Well, it was taken after five days of coverage in which we were talking about how we made the tax system fairer. So we need to talk more and more about that. Given by the reaction from Labour folk on my Facebook when I put up a picture showing how Liberal Democrats had cut taxes for people on the minimum wage, they know fine we're right.

The Government has also put up the Minimum Wage by 11p per hour as of yesterday - although there's further to go on that issue as I'm not impressed that the rates for young people have firstly not gone up and secondly are so much lower than for over 21s. The different rate for 18-21 year olds is particularly iniquitous. Why should these adults be paid less than other adults? However, the increase in the adult rate is good.

But, anyway, fairer tax is where it's at. Labour's record is pretty shambolic. The top rate of income tax was less than it is now for all but 36 days of the 13 years Labour were in office and we have increased the Capital Gains Tax on the wealthiest and are looking to tax wealth more. Danny Alexander has directed more resources into scrutinising the tax affairs of the richest so they pay the tax that they are due.

If you agree with this approach, of cutting taxes for the poorest and raising them for the wealthiest to make the tax system fairer, please sign up here to the Fairer Tax campaign.

Nick Clegg talked about us getting out on the doorsteps to deliver 3 million leaflets on the Fairer Tax campaign by Christmas. This ComRes poll shows us that this would be a very good use of our time. Let's wear out some shoe leather. 

Nick Clegg has better approval ratings than Ed Miliband, George Osborne and Ed Balls

We've been wanting a bit of good polling news for a while now - and we have it from this month's Guardian/ICM poll. Our poll rating of 14% would be in the ball park of what we would expect in opposition, let alone in Government at this sort of stage in a parliament. In July 2001, ICM had us at exactly the same figure at a time when we weren't in Government grappling with some serious issues. There's obviously a lot more to be done to get us back to where we were in the General Election, but we're in better shape than we were a year ago.

The good news, though, is that Nick Clegg has had the biggest positive change of all the leaders this month and has overtaken Labour leader Ed Miliband. He's still not quite got into the net positives, but he's not far away. He's gained 13 points in the last month.  More people think he's doing a good job than Ed Miliband. In fact, even George Osborne has a higher approval rating than the Labour leader and that will worry him. However, the Labour leader can take comfort from the fact that if we like him not much, we like his shadow chancellor and chief leadership rival Ed Balls even less. As Olly Grender said yesterday, Alistair Darling's memoirs have given  enough ammunition to quell any Balls coup attempt for some time.

I guess what's changed this month is that we've seen Nick Clegg out and about talking sense to counter the Tory nonsense on the riots. He bided his time. He didn't come out and pick a fight with Cameron in the midst of it all, but took a step back and talked about restorative justice and the importance of the Human Rights Act. He's come up with some good ideas, like the Summer school for those kids who need it before high school. 

It's also encouraging to see good results starting to come through in by-elections in places like Gedling and Eton. Even in Scotland, the recent poll in Highland, Perthshire ward showed that we are on the up. We took 12% of the vote, an increase of 4.8% from a poll in the same ward 3 years ago when there was no coalition to reckon with. And this was in the heart of John Swinney's constituency.

Obviously early days, but it shows that we just need to hit the streets and talk to people now, a lot, ahead of the local Council elections next May.

And the Hamster's name is......

Thank you to everyone who voted in the hamster naming poll. The results were as follows:

Harry 29.2%
Fluffball 25.0%
Snowball 25.0%
Another suggestion 20.8%

Some of the other suggestions were brilliant - Baldrick suits a hamster of little brain, Gumby, as suggested by Jennie, also went down very well with Anna.

As we always said, this poll was purely advisory but at least she has chosen a name that is on the list. So, the little white ball of fluff is now officially Fluffball.

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Six Point Leap for the Lib Dems in new poll

I don't often get too excited about opinion polls but this one, showing the Lib Dems up 6 points on the previous similar poll, can't be bad.

It must be significant that this comes in the month where:

Vince Cable has been again been vocal about the economy

The Lib Dems opposed Israeli action in Gaza

The Lib Dems led the campaign against the Goverment's plans to exempt MP's expenses from Freedom on Information legislation

The Lib Dems vocally opposed the Government's plans for a third runway at Heathrow.

My natural scepticism for opinion polls remains, and there is never any substitute for on the ground local campaigning, but I think that this shows that we are having a positive impact.

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