Labour slides to 20-year poll low

Labour have slid in the polls to 32 points, their lowest ratings for twenty years, whilst the Conservatives enjoy a five point lead at 37%.

Labour first fell to 32% in the ICM poll in May. Before that the party had not been so low in the polls since June 1987, three days before the party was defeated in the general election. Ministers acknowledge that it will be "hard graft" to win back the lost 5% of the electorate, accepting that voters take time to change their minds. But one said: "George Bush did it in another context and there is no reason why we cannot." However there will be fears that the government may not be able to pull itself out of the trough, even when Gordon Brown succeeds to the leadership.

Tony Blair has been working hard to regain control of the political agenda with speeches on public sector reform and a recasting of international institutions.

He hopes to catch the popular mood with a new package of criminal justice reforms covering human rights law, tougher sentencing, and an extension of summary justice. He will set out the government's plans in a speech on Friday.

What Blair seems to be missing is that every time he lurches to the right he loses more support.

It used to be that Blair was, by playing to the right, bringing on board people who were not natural Labour supporters but who had become disenchanted after 18 years of Tory rule.

However, Blair is now down to Labour's core supporters and every lurch he takes to the right only erodes his own base further.

His attack on the criminal justice bill has infuriated the left, and the fact that he sees this as a way of addressing his position in the polls only emphasises the fact that he is totally out of touch with the party he is supposed to be leading.

It really is time for Blair to go.

If he isn't forced from office soon, then he will destroy any chance that Labour have of winning the next election.

He is now putting self before party in an attempt to remove Iraq from his political epithet. He's wasting his time as Iraq is written in stone and is the most important part of his Premiership that will be remembered.

The longer Labour indulges him, the more damage the party does to itself. The Tories were ruthless when the time came to remove Thatcher, Labour now have to ask themselves how serious they are about retaining power, and whether they are willing to do what is necessary.

It is time to bring Tony's reign to an end. If Gordon doesn't have the strength of purpose to do it, then he will have no-one but himself to blame when it transpires that he never becomes Prime Minister.

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