Newspoll: 2 weeks in to the campaign, the Coalition hs failed to claw back Labor's poll lead

Election 2016: Newspoll shows Coalition failing to peg back ALP lead




Two weeks into the campaign the government has been unable to claw back Labor’s two-party-preferred lead and the PM’s massive approval rating since taking on the job has been wiped out.


Election 2016: Newspoll shows Coalition failing to peg back ALP lead
Bill Shorten’s standing with voters has jumped to a 12-month high, underpinning Labor’s election-winning lead in Newspoll, as Malcolm Turnbull’s support has continued to tumble.


The latest Newspoll, taken exclusively for The Australian, shows that after the first two weeks of the election campaign the government has been unable to claw back Labor’s two-party-preferred lead of 51 per cent to the Coalition’s 49 per cent.


And the massive approval rating enjoyed by the Prime Minister in the early months after he replaced Tony Abbott last September has been wiped out.


With six weeks to go until polling day, the Newspoll represents a two-party swing against the government of 4.5 per cent. If repeated on election day with a uniform swing, it would suggest about 23 Coalition seats would be lost and Mr Shorten would lead a Labor government with a narrow majority.


Voters still think the Coalition will win the July 2 election, although that expectation is also slipping.


The Coalition’s primary vote is steady at 41 per cent while Labor dropped one point to 36 per cent, the Greens are unchanged at 11 per cent and other parties and independents are up one point to 12 per cent.


Mr Turnbull remains the preferred prime minister by 46 per cent to Mr Shorten on 31 per cent. But the lead over his Labor rival has been more than halved.


In the first fortnight of campaigning the government has tried to focus on its message of promoting jobs and growth and attacked Labor’s spending, while the opposition has campaigned on education and health.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/fed...d/news-story/12b18750edf6bc2bf5162151aceaca27