November 04, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The British Conservative party lost some public support but remains the most popular force in the country, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 40 per cent of respondents would vote for the opposition party in the next election to the House of Commons.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The British Conservative party lost some public support but remains the most popular force in the country, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 40 per cent of respondents would vote for the opposition party in the next election to the House of Commons.

The governing Labour party is second with 35 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 18 per cent. Seven per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for the Tories and Labour fell by three points and one point respectively since mid-October, while backing for the Lib-Dems increased by four points.

In June, 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. On Oct. 3, during the party’s annual conference, Cameron talked about his work in reforming the party and bringing it to the centre of the political spectrum. He also challenged Brown to call an early election. On Oct. 6, the prime minister announced he would not hold an early ballot.

In March 2006, the Liberal Democrats chose foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell as their new leader. On Oct. 15, Campbell tendered his resignation. A leadership ballot of party members will take place in November, and the new Lib-Dem leader will be announced on Dec. 17. Campbell’s possible successors are environment spokesman Chris Huhne and current parliamentarian Nick Clegg.

On Nov. 1, Cameron recalled that this date could have been election day—as was speculated for a long time—and said Britons deserve an apology because change has been "delayed." Cameron also assured that public opinion is turning on his party’s favour, saying, "When there is a sea-change in ideas, a big shift in attitudes, when people realize that the world has moved on but their government hasn’t. When the country decides that a new government is the only way to move forward. We saw it in 1979, we saw it in 1997 and I believe we are starting to see it again today."

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?

	Oct. 28	Oct. 11	Oct. 4
Conservative	40%	43%	38%
Labour	35%	36%	39%
Liberal Democrat	18%	14%	13%
Other	7%	7%	10%

Source: ICM Research
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,011 British adults, conducted from Oct. 26 to Oct. 28, 2007. No margin of error was provided.