The Independent conducted a poll taken from those members of LabourHome, a site that provides a home for Labour’s online supporters.
They found that 54% of them wanted Gordon Brown to step aside for someone else.
Understandably the paper bigs up its own poll. See Grassroots turn against Brown.
What I find extraordinary is that the number against Brown is only 54%. It suggests that Gordon Brown’s conference showing might well be crucial – either to get his support in the Labour Party to increase with a good performance (and try get over 50% of Labour membership to support him), or on a bad to so-so performance see the numbers against him rise to a tipping point.
Especially when you look at the ratings given by Labour supporters to the Labour cabinet published on LabourHome.
Sept ’08: Only 8 members of Labour’s cabinet have made pass marks. The highest mark being Alan Johnston’s 6.18 out of 10.
And the bottom four:
Des Browne: 4.31 / 10
Gordon Brown: 4.3 /10
Ruth Kelly: 4.12 / 10
Alastair Darling : 4.07 / 10
Even among his own supporters Gordon Brown can’t get pass marks.
The lowest score Alastair Darling shows what a mess Labour has made of the economy. Even Labour supporters – presumably those that would argue that everything’s global and its not our (Labour’s) fault! – can’t even hide the fact that the chancellor is doing particularly badly.
(The Independent’s figures for this are slightly different, I guess because they took a snapshot over just 3 days.)
Motivation to campaign for the Labour Party is now at 4.8 / 10.
Something perhaps borne out last night when the SNP won the Baillieston by-election for Glasgow City Council, a council ward in the Glasgow East seat recently won by the SNP.
View from North Britain 
I think the poll reflected the fact that whilst most people want a change, the fact that they could only vote for 3 parties meant that if they still had strongly held socialist views, they would likely continue to vote for Labour, rather than the other two right of centre parties. But what you say is absolutely correct, Gordon Brown does have a chance to redeem himself at the Labour Party conference, but he must try to be humble, reflective and honest, not attributes we would normally associate with this man.