(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The governing Labour party keeps the upper hand in Britain's political scene, according to a poll by YouGov published in the Daily Telegraph. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for Labour in the next general election.

The opposition Conservative party is second with 32 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 14 per cent. 12 per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for Labour increased by one point since late July, while backing for the Tories remained stable.

In June, Gordon Brown officially took over as Labour leader and prime minister from 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 March 2006, the Liberal Democrats chose foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell as their new leader.

On Aug. 15, Conservative shadow chancellor George Osborne criticized the prime minister's priorities, saying, "I don't see any new argument coming from Gordon Brown that actually addresses these really deep challenges, challenges like the fact that child poverty is rising, like the fact that regional disparities are increasing, like the fact that real disposable income is falling for the average family. These are the big issues and I don't see anything except a day-to-day newspaper chase from the prime minister."

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.

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