August 02, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for the governing Labour party remains high in Britain, according to a poll by YouGov published in the Daily Telegraph. 41 per cent of respondents would vote for Labour in the next general election.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for the governing Labour party remains high in Britain, according to a poll by YouGov published in the Daily Telegraph. 41 per cent of respondents would vote for Labour in the next general election.

The opposition Conservative party is second with 32 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 16 per cent. 11 per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for both Labour and the Lib-Dems increased by one point in five days, while backing for the Tories fell by the same margin.

In June, Gordon Brown officially took over as Labour leader and prime minister from 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.

On Jul. 30, Brown met with U.S. president George W. Bush in Washington. The British prime minister discussed bilateral relations, saying, "It's in Britain's national interest that with all our energies we work together to address all the great challenges that we face also together: nuclear proliferation, climate change, global poverty and prosperity, the Middle East peace process, which we've discussed; and most immediately, international terrorism. Terrorism is not a cause, it is a crime, and it is a crime against humanity. And there should be no safe haven and no hiding place for those who practice terrorist violence or preach terrorist extremism."

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?

	Jul. 25	Jul. 20	Jun. 29
Labour	41%	40%	38%
Conservative	32%	33%	35%
Liberal Democrats	16%	15%	15%
Other	11%	12%	12%

Source: YouGov / Daily Telegraph
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,877 British adults, conducted on Jul. 23 to Jul. 25, 2007. No margin of error was provided.