Victorian Premier Ben Carroll trails as state’s preferred leader in new poll

New Victorian Premier Ben Carroll is trailing significantly behind Opposition Leader Jess Wilson as the state’s preferred leader, according to new polling, despite a bump in Labor’s overall popularity.

Polling commissioned by The Herald Sun in the days after Jacinta Allan resigned as premier last week shows Mr Carroll’s stewardship translates to a two percentage point lift for Labor, to 25 per cent.

The Freshwater Strategy polling indicates the Coalition has lifted three points to 30 per cent since June, while One Nation has slipped three points to 22 per cent.

On a two-party preferred basis, the Coalition leads Labor 52 to 48.

Victorians head to the polls on November 28.

On Tuesday, Mr Carroll will announce which ministers get which portfolios, 12 weeks out from the campaign kicking off.

The Labor cabinet has been slimmed down from 22 MPs to 20, in a move the party’s leader said on Monday would save tens of thousands of dollars.

Mr Carroll opted to replace just one of the three cabinet vacancies left by the departing premier and two of her staunch allies.

But the Freshwater polling still puts Mr Carroll a mile behind Ms Wilson, who has 47 per cent of people’s trust compared to 31 per cent for Mr Carroll.

Ms Wilson is seen by 48 per cent of people as preferred premier, compared to Mr Carroll’s 27 per cent.

Despite trailing Ms Wilson on ‘favourability’, Mr Carroll is posting better numbers than his predecessor; 63 per cent of people in the most recent polling saw Ms Allan as ‘unfavourable’, compared to 29 per cent for Mr Carroll, and 21 per cent for the Opposition Leader.

Ms Wilson remains streets ahead in the ‘favourable’ stakes too; 39 per cent of people like her, compared with 22 per cent for Mr Carroll and 18 per cent for Ms Allan.

The survey polled 1020 Victorian voters between July 31 and August 3, following Ms Allan’s resignation on July 28.

More than 80 per cent of people knew Labor had changed leaders; 26 per cent of people said the change made them more likely to vote Labor, while 12 per cent said it made them less likely to vote Labor.

On Mr Carroll himself, the polling suggests 42 per cent of voters do not trust him to act in the state’s best interests, but 27 per cent do trust him.

The polling shows a dip in support for One Nation but puts the populist party firmly in the mix with 22 per cent of primary votes.

At a press conference in Melbourne on Monday, where party leader Pauline Hanson banned the ABC, The Guardian and The Age from attending, she announced eight candidates for the state election.

They included a former key player within Victoria’s Liberal Party, who defected this year, though Ms Hanson denied that candidacy was a trophy being waved in the face of the Coalition.