Government parties make new year gains
2015.01.26Following several months of declines in support for both the government parties, this weekends poll will provide welcome news for both Fine Gael and Labour. Both parties see a 3% lift in support since December, leaving Fine Gael securing 24% and Labour 9% of the first preference vote. The gains in support may well relate to the fact that people have now finally seen the impact of the Budget in their paychecks, after months of being told this was going to happen but with no evidence of it. It is also the case that Government parties tend to to perform better when there has been a relatively quiet period of attention on politics, which could possibly be argued with regard to the past few weeks. having said that both parties will be happy to see a reversal in the long term downward trend in support, particularity as there had been some spot;light on Fine Gaels handling of the A&E crisis earlier in the month.
The losers are Sinn Fein and the Independent parties. Sinn Fein support falls back significantly with a 4% drop since December, at which time they were at an all time high in RED C polls. Independent candidate support also drops back 2%, with very little support vocalised for possible new parties or grouping that had been discussed earlier in the month. Fianna Fail remains steady at 19%.
Download the full report below:
SBP January 2015 Poll Report
