Conservatives eye '100 seat majority'

Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:00 AM

The Conservatives could win a 100 seat majority, the latest opinion poll has suggested.

Commissioned by the Independent, the CommunicateResearch poll is a further blow to Labour, after an ICM/Guardian poll last week placed David Cameron 13 points ahead of Gordon Brown.

The Tories' popularity now stands at 40 per cent following a six point rise over the past month. Labour remain static on 29 per cent while the Liberal Democrats have fallen four points to 17 per cent.

Mr Cameron is attracting support both within his own party and among floating voters. Some 43 per cent of undecided voters are inclined to vote Conservative, compared to 28 per cent for the Liberal Democrats and 19 per cent considering Labour.

Among self-confessed Tories, 91 per cent plan to vote for Cameron, compared to 76 per cent of identified Labour supporters who plan to vote with their party.

Tony Blair defended Labour's recent performance in the opinion polls in his monthly briefing with journalists today.

Mr Blair argued that policy is more important that mid-term popularity, telling reporters "the most important thing for us is to take the right decisions for the country and the polls will look after themselves".

He reminded his critics of the 1980s, when Labour was regularly beating the Conservatives in the polls but failed to translate this into effective policies or an election win.

Mr Blair also pointed out that this is the first time a Labour government has had to consider its third term popularity, calling on his supporters to "hold their nerve, do the right thing and trust people to make the right decision".

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