Mr Tony Blair's bad run shows no sign of coming to an end. The Gallup Poll, commissioned by The Daily Telegraph, shows not only a drop in public support for the Labour government but indicates that the apparently moribund Conservative party is beginning to show detectable signs of life.
For the first time since the 1997 general election, more respondents were dissatisfied than satisfied with Mr Blair as prime minister. His party's support fell four percentage points to 45 per cent and, perhaps more significantly, the Tory party's support actually rose by five points. Against the background of Mr William Hague's almost total lack of charisma, Mr Blair's performance in the poll is little short of abysmal.
To be fair to Labour, it should be noted that the poll was taken before the Conservative U-turn on tax reduction. There have been signs too, that Mr Blair's publicity machine has lost some of the confidence it once oozed. The government's annual report, published at the same time as the Gallup Poll, spoke of "steady progress" rather than outlining important successes as previous reports had done. Although the challenge from the major opposition party has been weak, the indications are that British voters are beginning to tire of Mr Blair and his party. The reason for this may be found in a specific section of the Gallup Poll's findings. To the question "Do you think the government has on balance, been honest and trustworthy?" Only 39.3 per cent answered Yes while 53.8 per cent said No. The years of spin doctoring and glib sound bites may have begun to take their toll.
For a party and a leader who strongly stress the creation of image, the poll's results must count as an extreme disappointment. A documentary to be shown by the BBC this evening will do nothing to enhance Mr Blair's image. News from No 10 will portray a prime minister who appears to be dominated, in image matters at least, by his spokesman, Mr Alastair Campbell. Even from this side of the Irish Sea, where perhaps there is less concentration on Labour's performance than there is in Britain, the apparent obsession with image creates a picture of a group of politicians more concerned with shadow than substance, of a leader whose sincerity is open to question and of a political culture in which the sound bite reigns supreme.
The poll shows clearly that while the respondents still give Labour a strong if diminishing lead over the Conservatives, they don't trust their government. With underlying trust so low, a convergence of other negative factors in the future could lead to a considerable loss of support. It is also clear that the gap between Britain's leading parties might be a great deal narrower if the Conservatives had a more charismatic leader and a less doctrinaire set of policies.