(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Britain’s main opposition party is maintaining a high level of public support, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 41 per cent of respondents would vote for the Conservative party in the next election to the House of Commons, up two points since late April.

The governing Labour party is second with 27 per cent—down two points in three weeks—followed by the Liberal Democrats with 22 per cent. Nine 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 May 1, Labour suffered major losses in local elections. Final results show the Tories received 44 per cent of all cast ballots, followed by the Lib-Dems with 25 per cent, and Labour with 24 per cent. In London’s mayoral race, former magazine editor Boris Johnson of the Conservatives defeated Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone.

Abortion has been legal in Britain since 1967. The time limit for legal abortions is currently set at 24 weeks, or roughly six months into a pregnancy. British women do not have to pay for an abortion if they qualify for the procedure under the terms of the National Health Service (NHS).

On May 21, British lawmakers voted against a motion to modify the existing limits. Different proposals sought to reduce the current limit of 24 weeks to as few as 12 weeks. Brown opposed the changes.

Conservative lawmaker Edward Leigh, who advocated for a reduction, expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome, adding, "In modern Britain the most dangerous place to be is in your mother’s womb. It should be a place of sanctity."

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?

Source: ICM Research / The Guardian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,008 British adults, conducted from May 16 to May 18, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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