Originally Posted by Mail
The ‘plebgate’ affair over Tory MP Andrew Mitchell has sent David Cameron’s poll ratings plummeting, and he is under fire for not getting rid of his Chief Whip sooner. Conservative support has fallen to 30 per cent, a drop of five points in ten days and only one point ahead of the Tories’ lowest score since the 2010 Election. Ed Miliband’s Labour has stretched its lead to 13 points on 43 per cent, with Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems scoring eight points, a humiliating four points behind Nigel Farage's UKIP, which has 12, according to a Mail on Sunday poll.
The incident also threatens to undo years of work by Mr Cameron to rid the Conservatives of their ‘Nasty Party’ image. Forty-seven per cent say the Tories have not ditched the damaging tag, against 32 per cent who say they have. And the ‘arrogant and posh boys’ jibe by Tory MP Nadine Dorries at Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne continues to resonate. A total of 56 per cent say the Prime Minister is arrogant, with 59 per cent holding the same view of Mr Osborne. By contrast, only 45 per cent say Mr Miliband is arrogant.
But the Prime Minister is still streets ahead as a serious figure. Nearly one in two regard him as a statesman.
Mr Miliband scores a dismal 22 on this count.