Latest poll shows growing political despondency

A growing despondency with the main political parties is clear from the latest opinion poll, which shows more than a quarter of voters undecided about who they would vote for.

The Millward Brown poll for the Sunday Independent carries a stark warning for Fine Gael and Labour of their political mortality — something Fianna Fáil learned painfully at the ballot box in 2011.

Issues such as the promissory note deal, the ending of the bank guarantee, and the apology to the survivors of Magdalene Laundries have done nothing to boost the popularity and electoral prospects of Fine Gael, which has dropped from 25% support to 24%, or Labour, which has fallen from 13% to 11%.

Fianna Fáil has seen its recent rise in other polls stall, falling from 27% support to 23%. Sinn Féin is the only party to have increased its support in yesterday’s poll, but did so just marginally, up from 20% to 21%.

These figures are arrived at when the undecideds are taken out of the equation. Some 28% of respondents said they were undecided.