Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

( L - R ) Samuda, Bunting

IT HAS slipped 12 percentage points in public support since last September's general election and now trails the Opposition People's National Party (PNP), but the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is not surprised.

"It is something that is not totally unexpected," JLP General Secretary Karl Samuda said Wednesday.

Ready for change

The Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson polls, conducted on May 31 and June 1, found the PNP now enjoys 36 per cent support while the JLP has 30 per cent support.

The JLP had enjoyed a 42-38 lead over the PNP in party standings on the eve of the September 3, 2007 general election. But today most Jamaicans are prepared to give the Bruce Golding-led JLP the boot if an election were called now.

Samuda said the JLP came to power in the height of turbulence and this has accounted for the slip in its support.

Public worry expected

"In a situation where you have high prices and the level of crime that we have experienced over the past few months, one would expect that there is a great amount of concern on the part of the electorate," Samuda noted.

"I think we are doing a very good job (in government) as most people would attest and it is only a matter of time before we rebound," Samuda said.

Meanwhile, Peter Bunting, the PNP general secretary, is also not surprise by the poll results. He said that "the Opposition has been speaking very pointedly to the issues and I think that the polls reflect that".

Bunting added that the PNP is not agitating for an election, but "are not going to back down from any challenge".