Polls - It pays to look beyond the headline

The Independent on Sunday (21 Sept) led with the headline 'The Brown bounce' as it reported the latest ComRes poll.

However, if one looks beyond that headline, the poll shows nothing of the sort. True, support for the Conservatives has fallen seven points - 46% down to 39% - but the principal beneficiaries are the Lib Dems, not Labour.

Labour is only up 2 points whereas the Lib Dems are up 5%.

So, far from a Brown bounce off the back of his handling of the deteriorating financial situation, the poll results show that the Lib Dems have had the bounce instead - possibly off the back of their new tax and spend position.

In short, beware misleading newspaper headlines.

As for Independent headline writers the message seems clear:

D- 'Could do better'!