(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Britain’s Conservative party has lost some support this month but remains in a comfortable position to win the next legislative ballot, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 42 per cent of respondents would support the Tories in the next election to the House of Commons, down two points since mid-August.

The Labour party is second with 30 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 17 per cent. 11 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 October 2007, Cameron challenged Brown to call a snap election, but the prime minister later announced he would not hold an early ballot.

In December 2007, current parliamentarian Nick Clegg became the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, defeating environment spokesman Chris Huhne in a leadership ballot by just over 500 votes.

The British economy has been severely hit by both a domestic and international financial crisis. On Oct. 9, Brown said he was "angry" about the way top bankers have handled their institutions, adding, "The days of big bonuses are over."

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?

Source: ICM Research / The Guardian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,008 British adults, conducted on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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