(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – If an election took place today in Britain, it is all but certain that Britain’s Labour party would not earn a new term in office, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 39 per cent of respondents would vote for the opposition Conservative party in the next election to the House of Commons, while 28 per cent would support Labour.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – If an election took place today in Britain, it is all but certain that Britain’s Labour party would not earn a new term in office, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 39 per cent of respondents would vote for the opposition Conservative party in the next election to the House of Commons, while 28 per cent would support Labour.
Public backing for the Tories fell by one point since mid-April, while support for Labour dropped by two points. The Liberal Democrats are third with 20 per cent, and 13 per cent of respondents would vote for other parties.
In June 2007, Gordon Brown officially became Labour leader and prime minister, replacing Tony Blair. Brown had worked as chancellor of the exchequer. Blair served as Britain’s prime minister since May 1997, winning majority mandates in the 1997, 2001 and 2005 elections to the House of Commons.
Since December 2005, David Cameron has been the leader of the Conservative party. In December 2007, current parliamentarian Nick Clegg became the new leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Earlier this month, British newspaper Daily Telegraph published a leaked memo showing that several lawmakers have spent their allowances on things such as tennis court repairs, horse manure, light bulbs, pornographic movies and even mortgage payments. The scandalous revelations have greatly affected the reputation of Britain’s Parliament, mostly because such expenses billed to the tax payers are technically allowed due to loose regulation. Members of all major political parties have been implicated in the scandal.
On May 19, Michael Martin, speaker of the House of Commons, resigned—a first in over three centuries—over the expense row. Martin was accused of resisting new legislation that would have made lawmakers’ expenses more transparent.
On May 20, Cameron called for an early election, saying, "We won’t end the paralysis just by electing a new speaker or even setting new rules. We’ve got to give the public their voice and the country a chance of a fresh start." Brown has ruled out holding an early ballot.
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.
Polling Data
If there were to be a general election tomorrow, which party do you think you would vote for?
|
|
May 17 |
Apr. 19 |
Mar. 26 |
|
Conservative |
39% |
40% |
45% |
|
Labour |
28% |
30% |
30% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
20% |
19% |
17% |
|
Other |
13% |
11% |
8% |
Source: ICM Research / The Guardian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,002 British adults, conducted from May 15 to May 17, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
