(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Britain’s governing Labour party continues to trail the opposition Conservatives, according to a poll by Communicate Research published in The Independent. 44 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories in the next election to the House of Commons, while 26 per cent would back Labour.

The Liberal Democrats are third with 17 per cent, and 13 per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for Labour dropped by four points since May, while backing for the Tories remained stable.

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.

On Jun. 17, Cameron said a Conservative government would allow people to compare energy bills in order to encourage energy-saving habits, saying, "If we find out that our neighbours, or households similar to ours, are using half as much energy as we are then we’re much more likely to bring our own consumption down in line. So how can we help people find out how much energy they’re using compared to their neighbours? There’s a simple answer: energy bills."

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

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

Source: Communicate Research / The Independent
Methodology: Interviews with 1,012 British adults, conducted on Jun. 11 and Jun. 12, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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