October 07, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two-in-five Britons would support the Labour party in the next election to the House of Commons, according to a poll by YouGov released by Channel 4. 40 per cent of respondents would vote for the governing political organization.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two-in-five Britons would support the Labour party in the next election to the House of Commons, according to a poll by YouGov released by Channel 4. 40 per cent of respondents would vote for the governing political organization.

The opposition Conservative party is second with 36 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 13 per cent. 11 per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for Labour fell by three points since late September, while backing for the Tories increased by four points.

In June, 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, Campbell criticized Brown’s style, saying, "All the indications are that the government, both in public and private, has deliberately encouraged the belief that an election is imminent. That has meant the management of government business has been in the interests of the Labour Party, not the public. Ministers have been distracted from their responsibilities by party considerations and the British people have been badly served by this uncertainty and partisanship."

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?

	Oct. 4	Sept. 28	Sept. 24
Labour	40%	43%	44%
Conservative	36%	32%	33%
Liberal Democrats	13%	15%	13%
Other	11%	10%	10%

Source: YouGov / Channel 4
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,741 British adults, conducted on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, 2007. No margin of error was provided.