Lord Ashcroft: Ukip plunge in aftermath of Channel 4 programme, UK election News updates, United Kingdom general polls, UK Election news 2015
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- Last Updated: Tuesday, 24 February 2015 13:05
Lord Ashcroft: Ukip plunge in aftermath of Channel 4 programme
Ukip have been hit hard in the polls, falling five points in a week,according to polling carried out by the Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft.
The party’s support felt to 11 per cent of the vote, the lowest share since the former Tory donor began analysing voting intentions.
Ukip’s poll slump comes after Ofcom received thousands of complaints following a docudrama by Channel 4, Ukip: The First 100 Days,which imagined the party leader Nigel Farage as the Prime Minister.
A Ukip councillor was also expelled from the party after saying she had "a problem" with black people, and making other offensive remarks.
"Some also wonder whether unpleasant or even sinister elements lurk behind the reasonable and entertaining Mr Farage, a suspicion that may have been reinforced over the last few days," noted Lord Ashcroft.
In the wake of the HSBC revelations, Labour got a three point bounce, putting the party four per cent ahead of the Conservatives.
Labour now leads the polls with 36 per cent of the vote, while the Tories are on 32. Ukip are on 11 per cent, with the Greens getting 8 per cent of the support.
The Liberal Democrats fell behind the Greens, trailing in at fifth, with only 7 per cent of those asked saying that they intended to vote for Nick Clegg’s party.
People were also much less likely to be sure about their plans to vote Liberal Democrat. Only 35 per cent of Lib Dem voters said they would definitely support the party at the general election while 63 per cent of those who said they planned to vote Tory were sure they would “definitely” vote that way on May 7.
Lord Ashcroft’s poll also asked voters what supermarket each of the party leaders would be.
The focus groups said that Nigel Farage would be Aldi, because “you know what you’re getting. Down to earth. Anyone can shop there.”
Mr Clegg would be the Co-op, with “all its nice fair trade values”.
The Prime Minister David Cameron was compared to Waitrose, but “pretending to be Sainsbury’s.”
One of the people asked said that the Labour leader Ed Miliband would “go to Waitrose but with his Lidl bag-for-life to carry round afterwards.”