(Angus Reid Global Scan) – The governing Labour party is holding on to the top spot in Britain, according to a poll by Populus published in The Times. 38 per cent of respondents would support Labour in the next election to the House of Commons.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – The governing Labour party is holding on to the top spot in Britain, according to a poll by Populus published in The Times. 38 per cent of respondents would support Labour in the next election to the House of Commons.
The Conservative party is second with 35 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 19 per cent. Eight per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for Labour fell by two points since November, while backing for the Tories increased by three points.
In May, British voters renewed the House of Commons. The Labour party secured 356 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 197 and the Liberal Democrats with 62. In the 2001 election, Labour elected 413 parliamentarians. Prime minister Tony Blair has headed the government since 1997.
On Dec. 6, the Conservatives announced that education spokesman David Cameron would be their new leader. 41 per cent of respondents would prefer a Tory government with Cameron as prime minister after the next election, while 35 per cent would rather have a Labour administration under current chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown.
The next election to the House of Commons must be held on or before Jun. 3, 2010. Sitting prime ministers can dissolve Parliament and call an early ballot at their discretion. In October 2004, Blair vowed to retire at the end of his third term in office.
Polling Data
If the general election was tomorrow, which party would you vote for?
Dec. 2005 | Nov. 2005 | Sept. 2005 | |
Labour | 38% | 40% | 37% |
Conservative | 35% | 32% | 35% |
Liberal Democrats | 19% | 19% | 20% |
Scottish National Party | 1% | 3% | 2% |
Green Party | 1% | 2% | 2% |
UK Independence Party | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Plaid Cymru | 1% | 1% | 1% |
British National Party | 1% | 1% | – |
Other | 3% | 2% | 2% |
If the choice at the next election is between Labour led by Gordon Brown, the Conservatives led by David Cameron and the Liberal Democrats led by Charles Kennedy, which party would you vote for—or would you vote for some other party or not vote at all?
Dec. 2005 | Nov. 2005 | |
Conservatives led by David Cameron | 41% | 35% |
Labour led by Gordon Brown | 35% | 37% |
Lib-Dems led by Charles Kennedy | 20% | 20% |
Source: Populus / The Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,512 British adults, conducted from Dec. 9 to Dec. 11, 2005. No margin of error was provided.
