Poll shows two thirds of the public feel in the dark about Labour Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds faced questions about her cut-through with voters today as a poll found most people still know nothing about her.

Almost two-thirds of the public say they are in the dark about the politician who hopes to take charge of tax and spending at the next election, revealed Ipsos MORI research for the Standard.

Even among Labour supporters, only 14 per cent say they know a great deal or fair amount about Ms Dodds, who has been in the post since April.  

Moreover, she is trailing behind Chancellor Rishi Sunak as the most “capable” to hold the nation’s purse strings.  

Key findings include:

* Four in 10 people have “never heard of” Ms Dodds (41 per cent) and another 23 per cent say they have heard of her but “know nothing” about her, making a total of 64 per cent in the dark. For Mr Sunak the total is 25 per cent.

* Eleven per cent say they know at least a fair amount about Ms Dodds, compared with 46 per cent in the case of Mr Sunak.  Among Labour supporters, 50 per cent know at least a fair amount about Mr Sunak but only 14 per cent say the same about Ms Dodds.

* Asked who would make the most capable Chancellor, 48 per cent chose Mr Sunak and 17 per cent preferred Ms Dodds, the widest gap since the Conservatives took office in 2010.  Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell never slipped below 28 per cent when he covered the portfolio for Labour.

* Under half of Labour supporters, some 37 per cent, think Ms Dodds would make the most capable Chancellor. Only 26 per cent of Labour supporters felt Mr Sunak was more capable, while three in 10 said don’t know.

* Satisfaction with Mr Sunak remains high at 61 per cent, down from 64 in September.  Even among Labour supporters, 55 per cent are satisfied with him, rising to 82 per cent of Conservatives.

Labour sources insist the real difference between Ms. Dodds and Mr. Sunak is that she has made better calls on the economy during lockdown. “The shadow chancellor has been ahead of the curve on all the major economic issues: cancelling the furlough cliff-edge, getting a grip on the test and trace and isolate system, getting the right economic support in place for local areas under heavier restrictions and investing now to lay the foundations for a strong recovery.”