The catastrophic fall in Labor’s vote has ended, according to Essential Media’s latest poll, but it remains stuck on a two-party preferred outcome of 50:50, and the Coalition is strengthening its primary vote.
In the latest poll, undertaken last week and over the weekend, Labor’s primary vote strengthened slightly to 38% but so did the Coalition’s, to 43%, leaving the 2PP indicator unchanged from last week.
Voter reaction to the Budget was mixed, with slightly more believing it was personally bad for them than good (22% to 26%), and more believing it was poor for business than good (27%-32%), but a greater number seeing it as overall good for the economy — 36% to 28%.
But 39% of voters felt the Government had not done enough to reduce the deficit, despite the government’s trumpeting of its early return to surplus. That too was balanced by a strong endorsement that the Australian economy was “heading in the right direction” — 51-25%.
On the question of who was best at handling the economy, the government finds itself 3% adrift of the Coalition, 33-36%, although a similar (though slightly different) question in late January had a bigger gap between Labor and the Coalition.
Meanwhile, Possum Comitatus reports on Pollytics:
This fortnight’s Newspoll comes in via The Australian with the primaries running 37 (up 2)/43 (steady) to the Coalition, washing out into a two-party preferred of 50/50 — a one point gain since last fortnight. The Greens are on 12 (up 2), while the broad Others are 8 (down 4). This comes from a sample of 1159, giving us an MoE that maxes out around the 2.9% mark.
This is what last fortnight’s poll should probably have looked like, with the Others vote back down to a sensible 8 and the ALP vote above 35. Only the luck of last election’s preference flows stopped the two-party preferred from looking odd last time.
This is probably one of the only times you’ll ever see a two-point gain to the ALP primary, a two-point gain to the Greens and yet only a one-point gain in the ALP two party preferred — it’s not a conspiracy mind you, just the rounding issues playing out with the polls over the last fortnight.
Read more at Pollytics…
“The catastrophic fall in Labor’s vote has ended, according to Essential Media’s latest poll”
Ended ? that’s a big call, I would have thought it’s just begun.
Bernard its typical of you to use something from Essential Media…. They have long been union and ALP supporters… you only have to look at their PR accounts to realise that..
Their research reports have as much validity as those coming out of the IPA… mere noise and rubbish!
And, thats why mainstream media do not touch their research because its all slanted towards their clients… unions and the ALP
Angela
Ahh Angela, and the media interpretation of the Newspoll isn’t biased since it is commissioned by the Australian, now an unashamed arm of the Liberal Party?
A telling factor with Essential is that it is a fortnightly rolling poll — so half the info comes post budget, and half pre budget when things were supposed to be so dire for Labor.
Next Essential will be more indicative.
JENAUTHOR, well at least you dont deny Essential is an ALP and union lackie organisation… their polls are nothing but rubbish with very selective questioning … and that is why they dont get picked up by mainstream…. you’d never hear Kerry O’Brien refer to an Essential media research!
hahaha