December 29, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The opposition Conservative party remains the most popular political organization in Britain, according to a poll by Communicate Research published in The Independent. 41 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories the next election to the House of Commons, up one point since November.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The opposition Conservative party remains the most popular political organization in Britain, according to a poll by Communicate Research published in The Independent. 41 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories the next election to the House of Commons, up one point since November.

The governing Labour party is second with 30 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 16 per cent. 13 per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for Labour increased by three points in a month, while backing for the Lib-Dems fell 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 October, Cameron challenged Brown to call a snap election, but the prime minister later announced he would not hold an early ballot.

Earlier this month, current parliamentarian Nick Clegg defeated environment spokesman Chris Huhne in a leadership ballot of Liberal Democrat members by just over 500 votes. In his acceptance speech, Clegg said he wants the Lib-Dems to be "the future of politics" in Britain.

Yesterday, Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated after an election rally in Rawalpindi. The three main political leaders in Britain condemned the attack. Brown said Bhutto "risked everything in her attempt to win democracy in Pakistan and she has been assassinated by cowards afraid of democracy." Cameron declared: "Those responsible have not only murdered a courageous leader but have put at risk hopes for the country’s return to democracy." Clegg stated: "Her tragic death is a hammer blow against the dream of pluralism and tolerance in modern day Pakistan."

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?

	Dec. 2007	Nov. 2007	Aug. 2007
Conservative	41%	40%	36%
Labour	30%	27%	36%
Liberal Democrat	16%	18%	15%
Other	13%	15%	13%

Source: Communicate Research / The Independent
Methodology: Interviews with 1,004 British adults, conducted from Dec. 14 to Dec. 16, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.