Brown eyes landslide majority
Friday, 31 August 2007 12:00 AM
Gordon Brown is poised to increase Labour's Commons majority, the latest polls suggest.
A YouGov poll for the Daily Telegraph hands Labour an eight point lead on the Tories.
With 41 per cent of the vote, Mr Brown is clear of the 40 per cent approval rating, seen as the benchmark for electoral success, and could increase his Commons majority from 69 to over a hundred.
The Conservatives trail behind Labour on 33 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats drop to 14 per cent.
However, Tory activists say the poll was conducted before the Conservatives' latest push on crime. They point to internal polls which suggest Mr Brown has a more tentative lead.
The strong poll showing has done nothing to dampen rumours of an early general election, which will be a likely topic at next month's political Cabinet meeting.
Writing on Conservativehome.com, former party chairman Theresa May said the Tories were ready for a snap election.
She said: "In the coming months, solid policies and a clear philosophy for government will emerge. These will define the battle that will be fought at the next general election."
Worryingly for David Cameron, his personal appeal lags further behind that of Mr Brown.
When voters were asked who would make the best prime minister, 44 per cent opted for Mr Brown, an increase of seven points over the past months.
Only 20 per cent voted for Mr Cameron as the best prime minister, a fall of three points. Menzies Campbell polled support from just six per cent.
Slightly more voters thought Mr Cameron was a good Conservative leader, but he still found support from less than a quarter of those polled.
Although the Conservatives hoped the 'Brown bounce' would be a short-lived honeymoon period, Mr Brown's approval rating is improving. Some 40 per cent said they were satisfied with his performance, up six points on last month.
Mr Brown has weathered a series of atypical challenges since becoming prime minister, but has been largely praised for his handling of the terror threat, flooding and foot and mouth outbreak.
The Tories' initial push against the new prime minister was overshadowed by the fallout from the grammar schools row and Mr Cameron was then criticised for flying to Rwanda while his own constituency was underwater.
However, the Tory leader has since returned from holiday determined to counter Mr Brown's famed clunking fist. The Conservatives' first attack, launched over the so-called NHS 'cuts' backfired, but Mr Cameron's focus on crime appears to have been more successful.
Separate polls suggest the Conservatives now have a lead on crime and health, while the Sun newspaper invoked Mr Cameron's "Enough" speech in a recent front page.
Ms May said the Conservatives had landed "a couple of significant blows" against Labour in the past week alone and were promising to "take the fight" to Gordon Brown.
But, success over "traditional" Conservative topics has forced the party to deny it is lurching to the right.
Immigration minister Damien Green said Mr Cameron's recent claim that immigration was too high was "in no way" a move back to "core voter strategy".
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