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Labour Gains, But Trails Tories in Britain
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - The opposition Conservative party remains the top political organization in Britain, according to a poll by Populus published in The Times. 37 per cent of respondents would support the Tories in the next general election.
The governing Labour party is second with 34 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 18 per cent. 11 per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for the Tories fell by one point since May, while backing for Labour increased by four points.
In May 2005, British voters renewed the House of Commons. The governing Labour party secured 356 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 197 and the Liberal Democrats with 62. Labour leader Tony Blair has served as prime minister since 1997. In October 2004, Blair vowed to retire at the end of his third term in office. Current chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown has been mentioned as his possible replacement.
Since December 2005, David Cameron has been the leader of the Conservative party. In March, the Liberal Democrats chose foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell as their new leader.
Yesterday, Conservative parliamentarian Ed Vaizey discussed the possibility of a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, saying, "David Cameron has quite rightly ruled out any formal alliance. But it stands to reason that there are at least half a dozen Lib-Dem MPs who must be unhappy with the current position of their party and whose thoughts fit much more closely with a reformed Conservative party campaigning in the centre."
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 the general election was tomorrow, which party would you vote for?
Jun. 2006 | May 2006 | Apr. 2006 | |
Conservative | 37% | 38% | 34% |
Labour | 34% | 30% | 36% |
Liberal Democrats | 18% | 20% | 21% |
Green Party | 4% | 3% | 3% |
Scottish National Party | 2% | 3% | 3% |
British National Party | 2% | 3% | 1% |
UK Independence Party | 1% | -- | 1% |
Plaid Cymru | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Other | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Source: Populus / The Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,505 British adults, conducted from Jun. 2 to Jun. 4, 2006. No margin of error was provided.