December 02, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Britain’s third largest party appears re-energized as it prepares to choose a new leader, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 21 per cent of respondents would vote for the Liberal Democrats in the next election to the House of Commons, up six points since early November.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Britain’s third largest party appears re-energized as it prepares to choose a new leader, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 21 per cent of respondents would vote for the Liberal Democrats in the next election to the House of Commons, up six points since early November.

The opposition Conservative party is first with 37 per cent, followed by the governing Labour party with 31 per cent. Support for the Tories fell by six points, while backing for Labour dropped 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. 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 on Dec. 17. Campbell’s possible successors are environment spokesman Chris Huhne and current parliamentarian Nick Clegg.

On Nov. 28, Clegg expressed his views on democratic reform in Britain, and reiterated his party’s call for a system based on proportional representation, saying, "Our political system is broken. The Houses of Parliament is fast becoming a museum piece—a 19th century home for our 21st century political elite. For much of the week its benches are almost empty. The place only comes to life for that half hour of barracking and bullying known as Prime Minister’s Questions. But is this surprising when we are governed by a party voted for by just 22 per cent of the people, but which has 55 percent of the MPs?"

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?

	Nov. 22	Nov. 10	Oct. 28
Conservative	37%	43%	40%
Labour	31%	35%	35%
Liberal Democrat	21%	15%	18%
Other	10%	7%	7%

Source: ICM Research / The Guardian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,005 British adults, conducted on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22, 2007. No margin of error was provided.