Marcus Wood

Polls still close - Labour lead down to 3%

There have been two more polls out this weekend, one in the Sunday Times showed Labours poll lead halving in a month to 5% (39/34/15) and another, for the Independent today puts Labour on 37% Conservatives 34% and the Lib Dems on 15%.

Nobody is celebrating these figures, they are not good enough for my party to win an election, not good enough for Labour to hold power and not good enough for the Lib dems to avoid a bloodbath of their MP's whoever wins the next election.

I am surprised that the Conservative figure is holding as well as it is, given that the electorate must surely be somewhat puzzled by the string of policy groups announcing what might seem to be conflicting ideas on a baffling array of topics from global warming to family breakdown.

The purpose and timing of these policy groups reporting was, I know, carefully choreographed to fit with the conference season.

What I am expecting over the next three or four weeks is that by the end of the conference season the fog will lift and the public will have a clear view of what we stand for and where our priorities will lie in Government. Our Conference will act as the launchpad for the Conservatives vision for Britain; which will knit together the best bits of each group in a sensible, 'joined-up' approach to solving some of our country's most intractable and pressing problems.

People will at last be able to compare and contrast a new Conservative party full of optimism and hope with a confused and demoralised Lib Dem party and a tired and distracted Labour party.

I doubt very much whether there will be any ambiguity whatsoever about which way the polls are pointing after the conference stalls have been packed away and the last satellite news van has departed down the M6.