Sanctus – Culture Secretary Amanda Thomas has suffered a major setback in her bid to become leader of the Democratic Left Party, new polling released tonight has suggested. Thomas, who previously led the pack at 45% of likely voters most preferred leader, is now sitting at only 27% favorability; she now sits at the bottom of the poll, with Allman jumping from 22% to 31%, and Ringrose now the most preferred leader with 38% of DLP party members backing him, up from 27%.
The biggest reason given by those polled for the drop in Thomas’ support is the her electability in a general election; more and more DLP voting members seem to believe she would not be able to lead the party to a second term in government in the upcoming December 10th House of Deputies election. Allman now jumps from last place to second, with her various hustings performances and the endorsements of Charlene Hendry and Kathryn Stewart likely helping in that regard. The big surprise is Ethan Ringrose jumping 11% into first place; DLP members have said he is the most likely to win a general election, and his temperament and experience stand the party in good stead.
Thomas’ policy positions seem to have spooked the general left-wing membership of the Democratic Left Party only one month out from the general election. It’s also believed her debating style, showcased in the various hustings that have been held, have turned voters off of her; Thomas has typically been on the attack, with an aggressive debating style that some call “orange-on-orange attacks”. Her campaign have said this is “just one poll” and still expect her to win the leadership contest handily, but both the Allman and Ringrose camps have said they have had DLP MPs currently endorsing Thomas reach out to them privately to tell them they would be switching support on the day – they don’t want to come out earlier for fear of reprisal from Thomas.
This is the penultimate poll before the leadership election on Saturday, November 19th. Both the Allman and Ringrose campaigns have said they anticipate their leads over Thomas to grow as the DLP electorate become more familiar with her off-putting behaviour and her “extremist” policies.
GWEN COPLEY, Political Correspondent
