July 25, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Support for Britain’s governing Labour party remains low, according to a poll by Communicate Research published in The Independent. 24 per cent of respondents would vote for Labour in the next election to the House of Commons, while 45 per cent would back the opposition Conservative party.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Support for Britain’s governing Labour party remains low, according to a poll by Communicate Research published in The Independent. 24 per cent of respondents would vote for Labour in the next election to the House of Commons, while 45 per cent would back the opposition Conservative party.

The Liberal Democrats are third with 16 per cent. 15 per cent of respondents would vote for other parties.

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 Jul. 23, close to 2,300 employees at passport offices across Britain went on strike demanding higher wages. The union is asking for an increase that matches inflation, tabled at 4.6 per cent in June. The government has offered a 2.5 per cent raise.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the union, declared: "Those on strike have been pushed to the limit. [The government] is paying poverty wages with its policy of below-inflation pay."

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?

	Jul. 17	Jun 26	Jun. 12
Conservative	45%	46%	44%
Labour	24%	25%	26%
Liberal Democrat	16%	18%	17%
Other	15%	9%	13%

Source: Communicate Research / The Independent
Methodology: Interviews with 1,016 British adults, conducted on Jul. 16 and Jul. 17, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.