Labor ahead of the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis ahead of state election, YouGov Galaxy poll finds

ONE PARTY is clinging to an election-winning lead despite Victorians believing they are too soft on crime, an exclusive Sunday Herald Sun YouGov Galaxy Poll has found.

THE Andrews Government is clinging to an election-winning lead despite Victorians believing they are too soft on crime.

With just over 100 days until the state election, an exclusive YouGov Galaxy poll, held last week for the Sunday Herald Sun, shows Labor narrowly ahead of the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis — 51-49 per cent.

COALITION GAINS GROUND IN NEWSPOLL VICTORIA

CRIME IN POLL POSITION AS ELECTION LOOMS

VICTORIANS BELIEVE STATE HAS BECOME LESS SAFE

An exclusive YouGov Galaxy poll, held last week for the Sunday Herald Sun, shows Labor narrowly ahead of the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis — 51-49 per cent.

The primary vote of both major parties is similar to the support they received in 2014, suggesting that the November 24 election will be another lineball contest.

If the two-party results were applied uniformly across the state, the Andrews Government would lose three of its 47 seats.

In a blow to the Coalition, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has slipped further behind Daniel Andrews as preferred premier over the past 18 months, and now trails 40 to 33 per cent.

But Mr Guy is winning the battle for law and order supremacy — even a quarter of Labor supporters believe he would be tougher on crime. Neither party appears to have put its stamp on tackling prices rises.

When asked who was better placed to keep the cost of living in check, the government came out marginally ahead with 37 per cent of the vote to the Opposition’s 35 per cent.

The state government announced in April that every Victorian household would be eligible for a $50 cashback payment simply for visiting the Energy Compare website to find a better deal. That inducement followed the Sunday Herald Sun’s extensive Fair Go for Families campaign against rising power bills.

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YouGov Galaxy managing director David Briggs said the Coalition will need Mr Guy to improve his standing with voters before the November election, with the government expected to target him heavily.

“The poll confirms that the state election is likely to be close and hard fought,” he said.

Mr Briggs said Mr Andrews would be satisfied with the fact he had his “neck in front”, but the Opposition “has some ammunition to go into this election with”.

“Victoria has its own crime issues at the moment that puts it front and centre for a lot of people,” Mr Briggs said.

The 1095 voters were surveyed last week, just before dozens of youths ran riot in Taylors Hill in Melbourne’s outer northwest and residents were urged to stay indoors while mounted police took to the streets.