Tag Archives: nick harvey

Lord Ashcroft has released some new polls in six Liberal Democrat/Conservative marginals and two Liberal Democrat/Labour marginals, including Nick Clegg’s seat.

In all but two of the seven Lib Dem held seats,  the Liberal Democrats are gaining ground. In Cambridge, Julian Huppert has pulled head of his Labour rival. He has gained ten points in six months to have a 9 point lead. There is absolutely no room for complacency, though.

Dan Rogerson (North Cornwall), Andrew George (St Ives), Adrian Sanders (Torbay) have slight leads and have gained ground since the previous polls.. Ashcroft emphasises that it’s all very much in the margin of error but it’s going in the right direction. In Sheffield Hallam, Nick Clegg has halved the gap between himself and Labour. What’s interesting is that Clegg’s vote has leapt up by 7 points – but Labour have gained 6 points as Greens and UKIP support has fallen. Even despite that fall in support of the smaller parties, Clegg has closed the gap to within the margin of error.

Ashcroft finds a movement to the Conservatives in both Nick Harvey’s North Devon seat and Stephen Gilbert’s St Austell and Newquay. In North Devon, our vote has actually gone up and in St Austell it’s stayed the same – but UKIP’s vote has melted back to the Conservatives.

In Camborne and Redruth, which Julia Goldsworthy is trying to win back, the news is not so good, with the Liberal Democrats having a bit of a mountain to climb as the Conservatives gain ground. Update: It’s worth incorporating this comment from someone who actually knows the area, Mathew McCarthy, into the main post:

Knowing Camborne, Redruth & Hayle as well as I do know (having been campaigning there pretty much full time since December 2013) this polling simply does not reflect the reality on the ground. We’ve been gaining serious ground in council by elections, winning one from 4th place last summer, and we know we’re in with a shout in May. We have an amazing candidate who is more well known than the current MP and is more popular amongst undecided voters.

We’re working absolutely flat out to deliver a great result in May, and I know Lib Dem teams across the whole country are doing the same. All I have to say to those Liberal Democrats campaigning flat out across Cornwall and South West England and indeed everywhere is thank you for the amazing effort you’re putting in.