The coalition: two years in

As the coalition celebrates its second birthday, it seems as good a time as any to take a look at how it’s doing in the eyes of the public. First, here’s how the government’s approval rating — as measured by YouGov — has changed since its formation:

As you can see, the coalition took office with reasonably good ratings, but the first ten months or so — which included the Comprehensive Spending Review and the tuition fees vote — saw public opinion turn against it. For the rest of 2011, the ratings stayed fairly flat, with the government neither regaining ground with the public nor losing any more — and there was even a slight bump in popularity in early December, following David Cameron’s EU ‘veto’. But then came 2012 — with stories of a double-dip, granny tax, pasty tax and charity tax — and the coalition’s unpopularity deepened even further.