Poll shows Brown could double Labour majority

Gordon Brown could double Labour's Commons majority, a poll published today reveals

Friday, 27, Jul 2007 12:00

Gordon Brown could double Labour's Commons majority, a poll published today reveals.

The poll, by the Telegraph and YouGov, finds the prime minister's lead over the Conservatives has risen significantly over the past three months, with 41 per cent of Britons saying they would vote Labour if there was an election, compared with 32 per cent voting Conservative.

Additionally, if Britons are forced to choose who they would rather see in power following an election, 46 per cent favour a Labour government led by Gordon Brown, compared with 34 per cent wanting to see a Conservative government under David Cameron.

In May 2007 David Cameron's Conservatives were commanding a strong lead over Labour, the polls showing the party was six points ahead with 39 per cent of the popular vote.

Today's results show a big swing in Mr Cameron's ratings as Tory leader since February, with 44 per cent of people now saying he is not a good leader and 27 per cent saying he is. This is an almost exact reversal of six months ago.

The poll also shows a marginal rise in voters favouring the Liberal Democrats, the survey reveals a one percentage point increase in support for Menzies Campbell's party.

Most voters are undecided about whether Gordon Brown is doing a good job as prime minister, 39 per cent saying they do not know whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied by his premiership, compared with 34 per cent saying they are satisfied and 27 per cent saying they are not satisfied.

This is also reflected in the responses for who the nation thinks will make the best prime minister, 38 per cent saying they did not know, 37 per cent favouring Mr Brown, and 19 per cent going for Mr Cameron.

When it comes to the economy the public is increasingly undecided over which party it thinks would do the best job, the number saying they are unsure rising 15 percentage points since May 2005.

However, the results reveal this is damaging Labour the most, the party experiencing a 12 percentage point drop since the last election, compared with a two percentage point decrease for the Conservatives.