January 18, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Britain’s main opposition party has gained public support this month and maintains a large advantage over the governing Labour party, according to a poll by YouGov. 43 per cent of respondents would vote for the Conservative party in the next election to the House of Commons, up three points since late December.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Britain’s main opposition party has gained public support this month and maintains a large advantage over the governing Labour party, according to a poll by YouGov. 43 per cent of respondents would vote for the Conservative party in the next election to the House of Commons, up three points since late December.

Labour is second with 33 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 14 per cent. Support for Labour dropped by two points, while backing for the Lib-Dems fll by one point.

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.

Last 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.

On Jan. 14, Brown called for safeguarding the country’s relationship with the European Union (EU), saying, "What is clear is that at this time of global economic uncertainty, we should not be throwing into question, as some would, the stability of our relationship with Europe and even putting into question, as some would, our future membership of the EU—risking trade, business and jobs. (…) I strongly believe that rather than retreating to the sidelines we must remain fully engaged in Europe so we can push forward the reforms that are essential for Europe’s, and Britain’s, economic future."

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?

	Jan. 11	Dec. 27	Dec. 14
Conservative	43%	40%	45%
Labour	33%	35%	32%
Liberal Democrats	14%	15%	14%
Other	10%	10%	9%

Source: YouGov
Methodology: Online interviews with 2,139 British adults, conducted on Jan. 10 and Jan. 11, 2008. No margin of error was provided.