Two opinion polls in Britain this morning show that the Tories have sunk below thirty per cent and that Ukip has jumped quite far ahead of the centrist Liberal Democrats The figures are: Tories, 28 per cent; Ukip 14 per cent, and the Lib-Dems 9 per cent. Labour has a double-digit lead over the Tories and is now widely expected to win the next election–an extraordinary possibility since the last Labour government is blamed for leaving behind a massive economic and financial crisis even by its supporters.
Most commentators attribute the latest upsurge of Ukip support to the anger and distress of traditional Tory voters at the government’s decision to push through gay marriage with almost no consultation and against the grain of much Tory opinion. Gay marriage comes on top of other Cameronian policies that have alienated his rank-and-file. But this particular change especially angers them because it seems irrelevant to most people’s concerns at a time of worrying economic difficulty .