The interesting thing to note from the reports of the Red C poll figures for tomorrow’s Sunday Business Post is that the only statistically significant swings appear to be away from Sinn Féin (down 4 points at 6%) and towards the Irish Labour Party (up 7 points at 24%). From the RTÉ report
The poll found Fianna Fáil support down one point to 23%, leaving the party in third place just days before the second anniversary of Brian Cowen’s election as Taoiseach.
Labour are up seven points to 24%, putting the party in second place, which is the first time it has ever achieved that position in a Red C poll.
Fine Gael is down two points to 33%, but maintain a commanding lead as most popular party.
The Green Party is up one point to 6%, while Sinn Féin dropped four points to 6% support.
Adds It’s worth noting Richard Colwell’s comment on this
However, the data does not suggest that Sinn Féin voters have simply moved to Labour.
Some have, but others have moved elsewhere; it is perhaps simply this fluidity among the disenfranchised electorate that is also Labour’s gain.
For Sinn Féin, this represents a fall in support of 4 per cent, following several consecutive months when the party had seen its support gradually improve. It is difficult to explain this loss without more information, but perhaps it is because the party has been seen canvassing heavily in the election in the North and taken its eye off the ball in the Republic.
Alternatively, Sinn Féin may well have suffered in the eyes of voters due to renewed activity by dissident republicans in the North.
Possibly…