Hague is favourite shadow cabinet member (and getting more so)

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William Hague continues to be the most popular figure in David Cameron's shadow cabinet.  66% of Tory members say that they are "very satisfied" with the Shadow Foreign Secretary and 28% are "fairly satisfied".  Only 3% are "fairly dissatisfied" and 1% "very dissatisfied".  Mr Hague's net satisfaction rating is up 7% on last month's ratings - partly reflecting, perhaps, his PMQs performance.

At the bottom of the league of ten, and down 6% on last month, is Party Chairman Francis Maude.  A majority of respondents - 53% - are satisfied with the Chairman: 13% are "very satisfied" and 40% are "fairly satisfied".  16% are "fairly dissatisfied" and 15% "very dissatisfied", however.  Mr Maude may be suffering from association with Michael Howard's unsuccessful campaign to give MPs final control of the leadership election and because of his responsibility for the unpopular Priority List for parliamentary candidates.

David Davis remains a very popular figure with a net satisfaction rating of +80%; up 6% on January.  Mr Davis' opposition to ID cards and his robust stance on the 'cartoon protests' may have helped to boost his standing.

George Osborne's rating has dropped a little in the month - perhaps because of grassroots unhappiness at the "stability before tax cuts" message.  How Mr Osborne handles Gordon Brown's forthcoming Budget will be an important early test for him.

David Willetts drops 10% this month.  January's sex offenders scandal put Mr Willetts in the spotlight when the Panel was last questioned and that might have inflated his rating then.

Andrew Lansley is rated 19% less highly than Mr Willetts.  The last two days have given the Shadow Health Secretary a number of opportunities to tackle Labour on the NHS cash crisis and this may boost his rating next month.

NEXT FINDING: 54% of Tory members say the war in Iraq was a mistake

Comments

[a-tracy]

Andrew Lansley is too nice. He doesn't seem very passionate about the poor management in the NHS, a quick quiz in the office and they haven't a clue who he is. I said he'd been on the news several times this week and just got shrugged shoulders.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"Mr Hague's net satisfaction rating is up 7% on last month's ratings - partly reflecting, perhaps, his PMQs performance."

And his speech in Washington.

[Andrew Woodman]

These figures are roughly what I expected. Some are harsh though. I think Maude suffers because of the goldlist situations. Letwin and the redistribution of wealth statement look like they've not gone down well, ditto May still suffering from the nasty party comment. Lansley as has previously been stated comes across as passive and boring. Spelman is overated imo and has never impressed me when I've seen her. Not seen Fox since the leadership campiagn, Willetts has open goals with Kelly and Teather both being incompetent. Too early to judge Osborne before the budget and Davis and Hague are performing well.

[malcolm]

Andrew Lansley has/will be presented with some golden opportunities to make a name for himself now with the problems in the NHS.
But he will have to say something far more thoughtful than 'it's all ministers fault,they must take responsibility for everything and er,that's it'.
This is opposition at it's most pointless and does not bode well for the future.

[johnC]

If Cameron has ruled out all ideas for improving the provision of health care such as patients' passports, extending the autonomy of NHS trusts or social insurance funding then it is hard to see how opposition can be made more effective or imaginative: 'We'll throw even more money into the NHS bottomless trough' is hardly an inspiring rallying cry.

[Joe Right]

A pity DC himself is not displayed on that chart of satisfaction - it would be interesting to see where he appears. I reckon probably just below Davis & Hague.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"A pity DC himself is not displayed on that chart of satisfaction - it would be interesting to see where he appears. I reckon probably just below Davis & Hague."

He'd be at 63% - just below George Osborne.

[Ted]

The thing is of course that it is the governments fault, they should take responsibility (not blame the officials) but all those brains in CCO & round various kitchen tables in north London should also be able to come up with some briefing for Lansley about what we would do - re performance of PCTs, removing non-clinical targets, planning the effects of wage rises.
Lansley should have said "well if I was sectreary of state I'd have resigned after....but what I'd recommend the S of S does is....rather than claim everything in garden is rosy..the deficit is less than has been wasted on PCT re-organisations.."

[Mark Fulford]

Which goes to show that personal popularity ratings are mostly meaningless. Would Cameron sitting below Davis, Hague and Osborne mean that we'd be happier / be doing better under any of them? No.

[Sam Coates]

Regarding the panel in general, I think we could make more of the fact that we got almost a thousand high quality, thoughtful comments to January's survey - that is a very high proportion.

[Mark Fulford]

Very tenuously on topic (but more so now that Sam has mentioned the word 'panel'): I was just looking at the nicely balanced panel for tonight's QT in Salisbury (is Mr Editor going)?

On the one team: Hazel Blears MP (so that's my hair gone), Odd Rod Liddle and Jean Lambert MEP

On the other team: Chris Grayling

Playing for both sides: Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali

Time to make a name for yourself Mr Grayling!

[Andrew Woodman]

Jean Lambert should be a laugh. Absolute crank.

Not seen much of Chris Grayling since he nailed Blunkett.

[Editor]

I applied to go to tonight's QT, Mark, but was unsuccessful.

Tim
Not-too-disappointed-of-Salisbury

[malcolm]

I hope that QT is better than last week which was probably the worst episode I've seen in years.
Chris Grayling I hope will be a better spokesman for our party than Villiers or Winterton.
Rod Liddle is always interesting don't know the Rev or Jean Lambert,who are they.

[Andrew Woodman]

They should have had you on the panel editor. I think a few of us should e-mail in requesting that.

[Andrew Woodman]

Jean Lambert is a Green party MEP whwith crazy hair and crazier opinions. Proper crank. She'll be good for a laugh.

[Mark Fulford]

Rod Liddle may be interesting, but getting kicked off Today for being too partisan seems to be quite an achievement!

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

Lynne Featherstone was meant to be on the panel - perhaps she's too busy weeping about the fact that the move to get more women on the LD frontbench overlooked her and focused on a recruitment drive amongst the Brownies instead.

[Andrew]

Rod Liddle makes very right-wing noises occasionally in his Sunday Times column, although more on the social conservative side than on the economic liberalism side. Should be interesting.

[Richard Allen]

I suspect that Hague's ratings are largely down to the fact that the membership still retain very fond memories from his time as leader. I can't think of anything he has done since his return to the front bench to justify such a response.

[Sam Coates]

[i]They should have had you on the panel editor. I think a few of us should e-mail in requesting that.[/i]
A few of us said that after his Newsnight performance but it's not something he wants to put himself through!

[Andrew Woodman]

Do you fancy doing it instead Sam. This site has the interest to justify sending someone imo.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"A few of us said that after his Newsnight performance but it's not something he wants to put himself through!"

I was one of those - it's a shame really, as Question Time is a good forum for political communication with the public.

[Rob Largan]

"A few of us said that after his Newsnight performance but it's not something he wants to put himself through!"

I put his name forward as well, after a not very subtle hint from Sam to the rest of us. It would make very interesting viewing.

[Annabel Herriott]

I'm watching QT and Blears is drowning not waving she is acting like a little squirrel, all on edge.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

My word Question Time was dire tonight. Two terrible editions of the show in a row - if it wasn't for Rod Liddle, I would probably be unconscious right now instead of typing this. From a Conservative standpoint, I was not impressed at all with Chris Grayling - very dull and very uninspiring. Hazel Blears was typically teeth-gnashingly infuriating too.

[john Skinner]

It's much too soon to pass judgement on the shadow cabinet. They have had too few opportunities to make an impression. If you need a fatuous competition, Iain Dale could probably help you out.

[Sam Coates]

I agree to some extent John but once we've had a few more polls we will be able to draw from trends more conclusively, and it's healthy for the shadow cabinet to be regularly monitored in this way anyway.

[Margaret]

You should read the text messages to QT which are sometimes more amusing than the show itself.

[charles Tucker]

The NHS deficits are a lot worse than is currently being reported and are either going to get even worse or there will be major cuts in service. The problem lies in the massive hikes in pay to GP's( for less work), consultants and nurses and the superannuation that goes with it. Don't be afraid to tell it how it is, don't burn bridges by ruling out funding other than thru general taxation and get ready with new policies for when bankruptcy arrives. Get Lansley to get out and talk to some of the non-execs in the PCT's and hospital Trusts. Find out if the biggest deficits are in non-labour seats because labour seats get better funding.

[Robert C Harrison]

I expected Cameron to commence with some very strong indications of halting and reversing our subservience to the EU also the abolition of this charade called Regionalisation in all it's guises.
Prescott should be hounded continously to reconsider his arrogant planning directives to do with local issues so that real democracy in the locally afected areas have the clear possibility to get their interests allowed to carry the sway of the decisions. M P's should be allowed to vote as their consience and published manifesto's
with "the whips" abolished.
ID cards should be scrapped forthwith. Pensioners should be tax exempt and pensions should all be honoured in accordance with their rules. The chancellor should refund all the funds stolen by Browns policies. Pensions should be raised in tune with average earnings index and allowed to catch up with 10 years ago minimum.
Bureaucrats powers should be slimmed down and their numbers reduced dramatically .
The whole party should get in touch with the strong feelings within the electorate on taxation, council tax and arrogant interferance with peoples evey day ways of life. Immigrants should be re-patriated unless they comply with our ways of life and so called Political Correctness should be dumped with a return to realistic decent policies of our long established ways of life without exception. Unless they comply at all times then show them the door along with the Muslims unless they stop preaching hatred against christians.

[rod sharp]

DC is too busy trying to appear as all things to all men, which is essentially a Blair trait. I know that he is trying to lead the party in the formulation of new policies and this is all to the good. But,he needs to establish some basic tenets, and to hit back hard at labour ministers who are ducking responsibility for their mismanagement of pensions, the health service, immigration, & law and order. The labour party are too often allowed to get away with lame excuses, unchallenged, or inadequately challenged, particularly when they claim things to be the fault of the last conservative administration. They have had ten years to get things right and they simply havn't. For example people like Patricia Hewitt must be challenged when she attempts to justify her department's incompetance in sweet tones that would do Mary Poppins proud. Similarly the same applies to Margaret Beckett-I've heard little from our party regarding the outrage of overdue payments to farmers on which they are being taxed before recieving money due to them.
A message to DC; be nice to the electorate by all means, but be downright nasty to the government. They are getting one over you at the moment, don't let them get away with it.

[Jennie dix]

David Cameron's comments about the UKIP party will have lost him a lot of support, they show him to be arrogant and ignorant of what the people in this country think. The most damage and cost has been brought about since we joined the European Union.
I now consider him to be a clone of Peter Mandelson and an idiot.

[Ted]

Jennie dix - UKIP isn't a wing of the Conservative Party; it is a Party which has as one of its declared aims going out and hurting this party in the polls. The Conservative Party is much closer to the thinking of the majority of the country than is UKIP.

I cannot understand how you consider an attack on a nasty little extremist opposition party to be even close to saying the Conservatives are supporters of Euro-federalism.

[Chad]

Ted, you don't attack the meaningless, you ignore it.

Cameron wasn't making a focussed attack on racist parties, otherwise he clearly would have covered more than UKIP.

UKIP are planning their first real assault on local elections, so it could be argued that Cameron is feeling a bit sensitive about UKIP splitting local votes as they did nationally.

Now you have to decide whether to ignore this comment.. ;-)