Voters remain undecided on whether to change voting system

The latest opinion poll has revealed that the gap between those opposed to changing the voting system and those in favour of change has narrowed, from a 6-point margin to a solitary point.

Though a narrow majority of the public still believes the voting system doesn’t need to be changed, yesterday’s ComRes poll for the Independent on Sunday revealed, the difference (excluding don’t knows) - 50.5% to 49.5% - is less than in last week’s Politics Home poll, which showed:

“There is a slight tendency to oppose the system recently backed by Gordon Brown (by a margin of 53 per cent to 47 per cent, among those who said would vote and expressed a definite view)”

When broken down along party lines, however, only Labour voters are split – 49% against to 47% in favour – with Conservative and Lib Dem voters both showing healthy majorities in agreement with their respective leaderships’ stances, 59%-38% against electoral reform amongst Tory voters, 65%-34% in favour amongst Liberal Democrat voters.

Other interesting findings from yesterday’s poll include a majority of respondents – 56%:36% – agreeing with the statement “David Cameron is a slick salesman but I worry about what he is like underneath”, and 50% of the public agreeing that “Gordon Brown has a warm human side to him”.

The headline figures, though, were more encouraging for Mr Cameron, with support for the Conservatives up 2 points to 40% since the last ComRes poll, for the Independent on February 2nd, and Labour down 2 on 29%, with the Liberal Democrats also up 2 to 21%.