World Jewish News

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (L) and Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband

Poll shows British Jews overwhelmingly favour David Cameron’s Conservatives ahead of May election

A poll commissioned by The Jewish Chronicle shows that British Jews will overwhelmingly vote for the Conservative party in general election on May 7.
69 per cent of Jewish voters said they would support the Tories, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, while only 22 per cent said they would vote Labour led by Ed Miliband.
David Cameron enjoys substantial personal support among the community. He was said to have the best attitude towards British Jewry by 64 per cent of people. Labour leader Ed Miliband was seen as the best supporter of the community by only 13 per cent.
Other parties including the Liberal Democrats and Ukip barely registered any support. Two per cent said they would support the Lib Dems, slightly ahead of those planning to vote for Ukip.
The vote of the British Jews will be highly influenced by the candidates position towards Israel and the Middle East . Around 73 per cent of Jews said the political parties’ attitudes to Israel were “very” or “quite” important in influencing how they would vote.
Around 300,000 Jews live in the U.K.
The poll revealed that just 10 per cent of people said Miliband had the best approach towards Israel, compared to 65 per cent who favoured Cameron’s stance. Despite being Jewish, Miliband has been heavily criticized by the British Jewish community for his Labour Party’s hard stances on Israel, including introducing non-binding legislation last year calling on the U.K. to recognize Palestinian statehood.
David Cameron has repeatedly reaffirmed his support of Israel both in parliament and outside of it. In a message congratulating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his electoral victory in March, Cameron reiterated the strength of the relations between his country and Israel. “As one of Israel’s firmest friends, Britain looks forward to working with the new government,” he said.
In the poll, the Labour party itself fared worse than its leader, with its Israel policy attracting only eight per cent of Jewish voters. The Tory approach was preferred by 61 per cent, The Jewish Chronicle poll shows.
The Liberal Democrats fared poorly across all the questions. The figures show the party’s support within the community has dropped substantially since 2010, when it attracted six per cent of Jewish voters. Only one per cent believe Nick Clegg and his colleagues know what is best for Israel.
Ukip’s apparent positioning as a pro-Israel party was backed by less than one per cent of Jews on the issue.
Jews in Manchester were slightly more likely to vote Labour than those in London. yet those in the north found Mr Miliband, and his party’s Israel policy, less attractive.
Opinion polls ahead of the May 7 vote suggest a narrow lead for the Conservative Party over Labour. However, Eurosceptic and populist UKIP, led by Nigel Farage, has seen its popularity surge, potentially drawing away voters from the Conservative Party.

EJP