Support for Coalition down to 59% among Tory members but satisfaction with Cameron remains high

By Tim Montgomerie
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The latest poll of Conservative members shows support for the Coalition slipping significantly. 59% still agree that the Coalition is, overall, a good thing for the nation but that's significantly down from last October when the number was 88%. The percentage who think it's a bad thing for the country has correspondingly grown. 33% now say the Coalition is a bad thing.

A clear majority of Tory members now disagree with the statement that the Coalition is a good thing for the Conservative Party. 51% disagree. 40% agree.

Overall satisfaction with David Cameron is at 76%. Dissatisfaction is at 22%. Satisfaction with the PM is down from last year when it was 82% but it's held up much, much better than support for the Coalition.

These numbers represent a much more accurate insight into the mood of Tory members than the threads on ConHome which tend to be much more hostile to the Prime Minister. Threads should be judged for the qwuality of peoples' arguments rather than the number of people on a particular side of an argument. I have never claimed that the people who leave comments on ConHome are representative. For the reasons outlined here the ConservativeHome surveys are a good guide to the mood of the grassroots.

(The survey was conducted before Hackgate).