April 06, 2005

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Scan) - The Labour party remains ahead of the Tories four weeks prior to the general election in Britain, according to a poll by NOP published in The Independent. 36 per cent of respondents would vote for Labour.

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - The Labour party remains ahead of the Tories four weeks prior to the general election in Britain, according to a poll by NOP published in The Independent. 36 per cent of respondents would vote for Labour.

The Conservatives are in second place with 33 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 21 per cent. Ten per cent of respondents would vote for other parties.

Yesterday, prime minister Tony Blair asked Queen Elizabeth II to dissolve Parliament and called a general election for May 5. Last October, Blair announced that he would lead Labour into the next parliamentary ballot, and retire at the end of what would be his third term in office.

Chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown declared that a third term for the governing party would be beneficial for businesses, saying, "Despite higher world oil prices and despite the lower growth of European economies, the British economy will continue to grow at a faster rate over the course of this year than the rest of the European Union (EU)."

Support for Labour dropped by three per cent since March, while backing for the Tories went down by one per cent.

Polling Data

What party would you vote for in the next general election?

	Apr. 1-3	Mar. 13-15	Feb. 11-13
Labour	36%	39%	42%
Conservative	33%	34%	30%
Liberal Democrats	21%	19%	18%
Other	10%	9%	10%

Source: NOP / The Independent
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 956 British adults, conducted from Apr. 1 to Apr. 3, 2005. Margin of error is 3 per cent.