January 30, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for Britain’s main opposition party fell this month, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 37 per cent of respondents would vote for the Conservative party in the next general election, down two points in 10 days.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for Britain’s main opposition party fell this month, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 37 per cent of respondents would vote for the Conservative party in the next general election, down two points in 10 days.

The governing Labour party is second with 35 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 20 per cent. Support for both Labour and the Lib-Dems increased by two points.

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 Jan. 28, Clegg discussed his education policies, saying, "Local government will have strategic oversight. Head teachers will be free to innovate—released from bureaucratic constraints. Free schools will harness the energy and enthusiasm of private individuals to boost academic performance and provide opportunities for all children from every walk of life."

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?

	Jan. 20	Jan. 10	Dec. 19
Conservative	37%	40%	39%
Labour	35%	33%	34%
Liberal Democrat	20%	18%	18%
Other	8%	9%	9%

Source: ICM Research / The Guardian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,009 British adults, conducted from Jan. 18 to Jan. 20, 2008. No margin of error was provided.