December 16, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The opposition Conservative party remains the most popular political organization in Britain, according to a poll by Ipsos-MORI. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories in the next general election, up one point since late November.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The opposition Conservative party remains the most popular political organization in Britain, according to a poll by Ipsos-MORI. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories in the next general election, up one point since late November.

The governing Labour party is second with 35 per cent—up three points since last month—followed by the Liberal Democrats with 14 per cent. Nine per cent of respondents would vote for other parties.

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. In October, Cameron challenged Brown to call a snap election, but the prime minister later 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 is currently underway, and the new Lib-Dem leader will be announced tomorrow. Campbell’s possible successors are environment spokesman Chris Huhne and current parliamentarian Nick Clegg.

On Dec. 12, Cameron criticized the prime minister, claiming his government is "utterly dysfunctional" and offering "drift, dithering and incompetence." Brown defended his record, saying, "(Cameron) said on television on Sunday that he was desperate to talk about education—but when he gets the chance, he talks about gossip. When it comes to rising to the challenges of this country, over the past few weeks we have made decisions on housing, education and health. That is what governing is about, not gimmicks."

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

How would you vote if there were a general election tomorrow? Which party are you most inclined to support?

	Dec. 7	Nov. 27	Nov. 1
Conservative	42%	41%	40%
Labour	35%	32%	35%
Liberal Democrats	14%	17%	13%
Other	9%	10%	12%

Source: Ipsos-MORI
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,028 absolutely certain British voters, conducted from Nov. 29 to Dec. 7, 2007. No margin of error was provided.