(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The governing Labour party maintains the upper hand in Britain’s political scene, according to a poll by YouGov released by the Daily Telegraph. 43 per cent of respondents would back Labour in the next general election.

The opposition Conservative party is second with 32 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 15 per cent. Ten per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for both Labour and the Tories fell by one point in four days, while backing for the Lib-Dems increased by two 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. In March 2006, the Liberal Democrats chose foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell as their new leader.

Yesterday, Cameron urged Brown to call an early ballot and get a mandate from the British people, adding, "We can all play the game of quoting polls, why not find out in a real general election? I tell you, I really want it." Cameron said he is confident of victory, because his party could offer "real change" after "10 years of failure" by Labour.

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 a general election tomorrow, which party would you vote for?

Source: YouGov / Daily Telegraph
Methodology: Online interviews with 2,165 British adults, conducted from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Archive Search

Over 19,600 Polls
Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Polls & Research archive.