Sinn Fein gain, as Budget Issues put Labour under pressure

Just three months ago, when the Dail was about to break up for the summer, we were talking about a post referendum hangover for Sinn Fein, with support for the party falling back as coverage for the party dies down following the election.  Roll on three months and Sinn Fein is the only party to see any significant change in support over the intervening months, with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail registering stable support, and Labour and other parties down very slightly.

Sinn Fein secure 18% share of the vote, up 2% since June, and while not back to the levels evident during the referendum, this is a positive gain for the party after a downward trend in recent polls.  The support for the party is focused among young men, and this is where the biggest gains have come in the past few months, while support among younger women has fallen back.

Labour sees support drop back by 1%, to leave the party languishing at 14% support.  The party definitely appears to be coming under pressure in the run up to the budget, the start of which seems to be earlier every year.  While the budget is still two and half months away discussion about what may or may not be in it have very much been in the news over recent weeks.  The impact of this appears to have hit Labour more so than Fine Gael at this early stage, with evidence that voters who may usually be inclined to vote for Labour, somewhat more likely to feel that the coalition has gone back on its election promises on tax, and also worried that the coalition is not able to manage the economy.

Download the full report below:-

SBP 23rd Sep 2012 Poll Report