Labour up against voter fatigue

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, APRIL 25. Barely six weeks before an expected general election, widespread voter fatigue threatens to take some of the sheen off a Labour victory. An opinion poll today confirmed fears of a low turnout with only 50 per cent of the public saying they were certain to vote, compared with 66 per cent who made a similar promise on the eve of 1997 elections.

While Labour retains its unbeatable lead over the Tories, a low turnout is likely to hurt its prospects in marginal seats which it snatched from the Tories in the last election on the strength of floating voters and an all-pervasive national determination to get the Tories off their back. The 1997 elections saw a huge turnout of over 71 per cent as people voted with their feet to put Mr. Tony Blair in Downing Street. The motivation this time is less evident, partly no doubt because of growing dissatisfaction with his Government's record on several issues but essentially because a Labour victory is taken for granted and therefore many think that their vote wouldn't really make a difference.

Fear of low voting has consistently haunted Labour and today's poll in The Times is likely to intensify the debate in the party on motivating its supporters to get out of their homes on June 7, the most likely polling date. Already, Mr. Blair has called for a more ``sparkling'' election manifesto to impress the undecided voters, though the more conservative opinion in the party is believed to be against trying to ``pull rabbits out of a hat'' in its anxiety to please everyone. Mr. Blair, however, is taking no chances and his Government's announcement today of an ambitious £1 billion scheme to target poor families with children was widely seen as a pre-election giveaway.

Under the scheme, described as a ``big idea'' not tried in Europe before, the Government would put in up to £500 in a trust fund for each child at birth - and by the time the child is eligible to claim it at the age of 18, his or her starting personal ``wealth'' would be worth between £5,000 and £7,000. They can use this for further education or to buy their first home or to start a family. The idea, according to the Chancellor, Mr. Gordon Brown, is to tackle child poverty and give children from deprived families a fighting chance to start in life. The Tories were quick to dub it an election ``gimmick,'' saying the Government was doing no more than returning to the people some of the money it had taken from them in ``stealth'' taxes.

More ``family friendly'' incentives are likely in the coming days and these, together with the benefits of Mr. Brown's please-all budget, are expected to go some way to win back for the Labour the confidence of such of its supporters who had begun to get disillusioned. The Times' poll, however, suggests that to a great extent Labour would owe its victory to the absence of a credible alternative. ``The lack of enthusiasm for the Government suggests that Labour's continued high rating reflects the Tories' lack of credibility as an alternative,'' the newspaper said pointing out that the Tory leader, Mr. William Hague's personal ratings continued to be ``heavily negative with the dissatisfied outnumbering the satisfied by more than two to one, with no sign of improvement.''

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Section  : International
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