Opinion poll records

[Deleted]

Highest ever Conservative rating: 56% (May 1968)
Highest ever Conservative lead: 28% (twice, in May 1968 and September 2008)
Lowest ever Conservative rating: 18.5% (January 1995)
Highest Conservative lead whilst in government: 27% (June 1982)
Lowest Conservative rating whilst in opposition: 21% (December 1997)
Highest ever Labour rating: 63% (November 1997)
Highest Labour rating whilst in opposition: 62% (January 1995)
Highest ever Labour lead: 43.5% (January 1995)
Lowest ever Labour rating: 18% (May 2009)
Highest Labour lead whilst in government: 40% (November 1997)
Lowest Labour rating whilst in opposition: 23% (June 1983 and April 2017)
Highest ever Liberal rating (pre 1981): 29.1% (October 1973)
Lowest ever Liberal rating: 1.5% (May 1955)
Highest ever SDP-Liberal Alliance rating: 50.5% (December 1981)
Highest ever SDP-Liberal Alliance lead: 27% (December 1981)
Lowest ever SDP-Liberal Alliance rating (1981-8): 8% (January 1988)
Highest ever Liberal Democrat rating (since 1988): 33% (April 2010)
Highest Liberal Democrat rating whilst in government: 25% (June 2010)
Lowest ever Liberal Democrat rating (since 1988): 3% (November 1989)
Highest ever Green Party rating: 13% (June 1989)
Highest ever UKIP rating: 25% (six times since October 2014)

Can we think of any more?

[The Bishop]

Thanks for that - remember posting something along these lines at the old site.

Never knew the highest ever Labour rating had been *in government*, though

(does rather prove the point I made last week though - that most people, not just those who actually voted Labour, welcomed the Tories defeat in 1997 )

[Deleted]

Labour's massive lead had narrowed somewhat throughout the summer of 1997, before going back up to the 35-40% range in the autumn. I can't recall what accounted for this. It might have been the effect of the party conferences, or partly Tony Blair's Alastair Campbell's "People's Princess" speech and notable influence on royal protocol just after Diana died (as recounted in Helen Mirren's portrayal as the Queen).
The massive Labour leads in the 1997-2001 Parliament turned out to be ludicrously exaggerated, pointing to a Labour majority of somewhere between 250-300, although admittedly a lot of that party's voters stayed at home on the day, partly because they anticipated that sort of result.

A few more polling records:
Highest Conservative rating whilst in government: 53% (September 1987)
Highest Liberal Democrat lead: 6% (April 2010)
Lowest Liberal Democrat rating in government since coalition agreement: 4% (January 2015)
First ever voting intention figures by party: Lab 44, Con 36, Lib 10.5 (June 1943)
Longest continuous Labour lead: 8 years (September 1992-September 2000)
Longest continuous Conservative lead: 2 years, 6 months (November 1967-May 1970)

If UKIP can break through the 17% barrier, it'll get a mention here.

[Davıd Boothroyd]

This could almost go in the useless facts section, but the Labour Party has the distinction of scoring its highest ever opinion poll rating and lowest ever Parliamentary election performance in the same month.

[Deleted]

Winchester - the last by-election in which Screaming Lord Sutch was a candidate.

[The Bishop]

Labour's lowest since WW2, anyway. From vague memory they might have scored even lower in one of the Glasgow seats in the inter-war period of ILP dominance??

[Deleted]

Labour did get a swing in their favour in the Beckenham by-election that month, although going by what the polls were saying 1997-2001 they should have easily picked up that seat, as well as Uxbridge and Eddisbury.

[Deleted]

ICM shows UKIP on a record 18%.

[greenchristian]

May 8, 2013 22:47:44 GMT swanarcadian said:

Highest ever Green Party rating: 10% (twice, in July 1989 and September 1989)

That's 5% lower than our proportion of the vote in the 1989 European Parliament Elections, which may make us the only party whose highest vote share in a UK-wide election exceeds our best performance in an opinion poll (ignoring parties who have never polled high enough to be listed in the poll results).

[The Bishop]

Re the rather strange ICM finding tonight - anybody know the highest ever BNP rating??

[Deleted]

May 13, 2013 20:56:46 GMT The Bishop said:

Re the rather strange ICM finding tonight - anybody know the highest ever BNP rating??

I do remember it being 7% in the aftermath of local elections, either in 2003 or 2004, but it could well have been higher. Mark Pack or Anthony Wells might know.

[Deleted]

Two records being matched in one poll today - UKIP on 18% and Lib Dems whilst in government on 7% (TNS/BMRB).

[Devonian]

New highest ever UKIP rating 19% from ComRes

[Deleted]

Probably about the level they would have to poll to win a seat.

[Devonian]

And another one. Highest ever UKIP rating 20% from Opinium

[Deleted]

Best place for this, another 'sensation'

Mike Smithson @msmithsonpb
I'm getting word of a sensational poll carried out entirely after loongate. The numbers should be out later but are really jaw-dropping.

No idea on the company but guess it means Tory and UKIP very close ?

[The Bishop]

Well, the usual YouGov is due out as early as tonight......

[Pete Whitehead]

May 20, 2013 17:06:43 GMT @Mike Smithson said:

loongate

[Sibboleth]

We need to have gategate to end the madness.

[Deleted]

and it arrived, UKIP on 22%