(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Britain’s governing Labour party continues to trail the opposition Conservatives, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 43 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories in the next election to the House of Commons, while 28 per cent would back Labour.

Support for the Conservatives fell by two points since late June, while backing for Labour increased by three points. The Liberal Democrats remain third with 19 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 Jul. 21, Brown addressed Israeli lawmakers while in Jerusalem, and told them that his father—a minister in the Church of Scotland—always had a special regard for their country, declaring, "I will never forget those early images of your home in my home. (...) For the whole of my life, I have counted myself a friend of Israel."

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 1,007 British adults, conducted from Jul. 18 to Jul. 20, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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