Lib Dem poll rating up

3.43.12pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 23rd Jan 2007

Lib Dem support rises to 23%

Liberal Democrat support has risen to 23% according to the latest Guardian/ICM opinion poll. The Conservatives are on 37% and Labour is on 31%.

In a report on page 2 of today's Guardian (23 January 2007) the reporter, Julian Glover, says "Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader, can draw confidence from the poll, which shows support for his party recovering and finds that the public view of him has remained largely unchanged, despite a difficult first year as leader."

The report continues "Support for the Liberal Democrats has grown in this month's poll because the party has picked up the backing of some former Labour voters and because Lib Dem backers are now more likely to say they will turn out to vote."

Our rating in the same poll last month was 18%, so we are notionally +5%. However, as these polls are subject to a margin of error of roughly +/- 3%, our true rating could be 20% or 21%. Even so, this is good news.

The Liberal Democrats won 22% of the national vote in the 2005 general election. We are doing well to maintain that level of support during the mid-term. Traditionally our poll rating declines between elections.

Full coverage of this poll is on The Guardian's website at http://tinyurl.com/37afwd