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Clegg wins over the accountants

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20th Apr 2010
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AccountingWEB members appear to have jumped on the Liberal Democrat bandwagon following party leader Nick Clegg's successful appearance in last week's live TV debate.

After trailing the Conservatives by 15% in AccountingWEB's election poll last week, the Lib Dems surged into first place in a new poll started on the day of the debate. As the count stands, the Lib Dems with 37% are 26% ahead of the Conservatives. The Green Party, too, has enjoyed a surge and is currently second place in the poll with 22%. Labour if floundering in the accountants' poll, but since last Thursday, the number of undecided voters has increased from 10% to 13% - so there are still plenty of voters to play for.

The remarkable rise in the Lib Dems' prospects in AccountingWEB's online poll was reinforced by a YouGov poll for the Sun newspaper that showed the party to have a 33% share of the sample, ahead of both the Tories (32%) and Labour (26%).

The Lib Dems have put taxation at the centre of their campaign with a manifesto pledge to increase the personal allowance for income tax to £10,000. According to the YouGov poll, 66% of those questioned approved of the policy. Some of the Lib Dems' other policies, for example to strengthen ties to Europe, were less popular.

Is the Clegg surge a short-term phenomenon that will fade as the campaign heads for polling day on 6 May, or have the Lib Dems really broken the political mould for both accountants and the wider electorate? Take part in this week's AccountingWEB election poll to find out.

AccountingWEB poll results 14/4 20/4
Conservative 40%   9%
Liberal Democrat 25% 48%
Labour 14%   5%
Undecided 10% 13%
Green 4% 22%
Nationalist 1%   0%
Will not vote 5%   4%

Follow the election issues that matter on AccountingWEB

 

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Replies (5)

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By cymraeg_draig
20th Apr 2010 15:28

And I always assumed accountants were intelligent ..............

............... yet they are being swayed by a very artificial "popularity contest" which had more in common with Miss World than it did with real policies.  

 

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By User deleted
21st Apr 2010 08:14

Form over substance

Previous posting is quite correct - where is the intelligent reasoning behind this.

Clearly a glaring case of form over substance.

Just because this is a novelty act doesn't mean it is better - suggest everyone reads the small print about policies

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By Psyche
21st Apr 2010 10:33

Why I've switched my vote

I've always supported the Lib Dems, but in this election I planned to vote Labour just because I reasoned the Lib Dems had no real chance, and better to stick with the lesser of the two main evils and keep the Conservatives out. Now that the Lib Dems actually do appear to have a chance, I've less to lose by voting for the party whose policies I support.

And I didn't watch the debate, so its contents have had no effect on me. I think the closet Liberal Democrat supporters are coming out of the closet now there seems an actual opportunity to make real change.

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By User deleted
22nd Apr 2010 09:02

Anyone for the Liberal Democrats?

Oh, come on. The Lib Dems are just not credible. No tax for those earning under £10,000k? Scrap the nuclear deterrent? This is a  fantasy wish list, not a manifesto.

For the first time in many years, the Tories actually have a reasonably clear message and some half decent ideas. Let's get this country out of the mess this current crop of morons has got us in and vote in some people who aren't either 1) hell-bent on destroying what's left of our great country or 2) without any sensible policy ideas of how to actually run our country.

We must avoid a coalition government or, God forbid, a Lib Dem government at all costs.

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By nickja
26th Apr 2010 19:13

Form over substance....

....but Cameron didn't win!

 

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