Just two weeks remain before the July 4 general election, and Labour continues to command an impressive lead after the fourth round of C+D’s election sentiment tracker, hosted on LinkedIn last week (June 17-20).
Support for Labour rose to 39% of the 294 respondents to the poll. The official opposition party last week promised a community pharmacist prescribing service in its manifesto.
Vote in week five of C+D’s election sentiment tracker here
‘Other’ parties came in second again this week, chosen by 25% of C+D readers. The election sentiment tracker saw, up from week three.
In a week in which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak penned an exclusive blog for C+D, his Conservative party saw its share of the vote rise by 55%. But this rise was from a low base, leaving them with just 14% of the reader vote, the same as the first week of 2024 polling.
Yet again, the ruling party was in fourth place in the standings, behind undecided voters (21%).
Significant “Other” revealed
Last week, a flurry of manifesto launches from the Liberal Democrat Party, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru and Reform saw community pharmacy the focus of key party pledges, and support for “Other” parties rose to 29%, its highest level yet.
But the limit of four options on C+D’s poll on LinkedIn, meant that the identity of the “Other” parties was obscured.
Read more: C+D election tracker: Sector poll sees rise of the significant ‘other’
As a remedy for this, C+D asked its readers which party was their “Other”, offering as options the Lib Dems, Greens, Reform, and SNP/Plaid Cymru (together as national independence parties).
The poll saw 115 respondents, roughly a third of those who voted in the election sentiment tracker and in proportion with “Other” support in that poll.
The Lib Dems were the most popular “Other” party, supported by 31% of C+D’s respondents. The party led by Sir Ed Davey have made eye-catching pledges for community pharmacy, including “a fairer and more sustainable long-term funding model for pharmacies”.
But the Greens were hot on the Lib Dems’ heels, with 29% of respondents signalling support for the environmentally conscious campaigners. The Greens have promised to inject billions of pounds into primary care and “end new cases" of HIV by 2030 by making PrEP available in pharmacies.
Read more: Green Party pledges to make PrEP available in pharmacies and online
Reform, which promised “tax incentives for new pharmacies”, came third in the other poll. But the immigration obsessed party was very much in the game, with 28% of the vote.
The SNP and Plaid Cymru came last, supported by just 12% of C+D’s participating readers. The Scottish nationalists did not mention any plans for pharmacy in its manifesto, but the Welsh nationalists vowed to reform the drug tariff structure.
Be sure to add your vote as C+D’s weekly general election sentiment tracker heads into its fifth and penultimate week.
