Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research

Tories Steady, Lib-Dems Drop in Britain

January 27, 2006

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - The Conservative party is holding on to a slim advantage in Britain, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 37 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories in the next election to the House of Commons.

The governing Labour party is second with 36 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 19 per cent. Seven per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. Support for the Tories and Labour remained stable since December, while backing for the Lib-Dems fell by two points.

In May 2005, British voters renewed the House of Commons. The governing Labour party secured 356 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 197 and the Liberal Democrats with 62. Labour leader Tony Blair has served as prime minister since 1997. In October 2004, Blair vowed to retire at the end of his third term in office. Current chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown has been mentioned as his possible replacement.

Last month, the Conservative party announced that David Cameron would be their new leader. The 39-year-old Cameron becomes the fourth person to command the opposition organization in the past eight years. The Liberal Democrats will settle on a new leader by early March. The leadership ballot was called this month after Charles Kennedy admitted to a drinking problem. Foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell, home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten, party president Simon Hughes, and economics spokesman Chris Huhne have declared their candidacies.

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.

Yesterday, Blair said he would attempt to revive the political process in Northern Ireland, adding, "A state of paralysis or stalemate is not a good place to be."

Polling Data

If there were to be a general election tomorrow, which party do you think you would vote for?

 

Jan. 2006

Dec. 2005

Oct. 2005

Conservative

37%

37%

33%

Labour

36%

36%

38%

Liberal Democrat

19%

21%

22%

Other

7%

6%

7%

Source: ICM Research / The Guardian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,009 British adults, conducted from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22, 2006. No margin of error was provided.

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