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Further poll blow for Labour
20.07.08
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Gordon Brown's Labour Party is trailing the Conservatives by more than 20 points nationally, according to an opinion poll released ahead of Thursday's Glasgow East by-election.
The ComRes survey for the Independent on Sunday put the Tories on 45% - up one point from a similar poll last month - and Labour on 24% (down two). Liberal Democrats were down a point on 16%.
Labour's 24% tally is the lowest recorded by ComRes since it started polling for the paper in 2004, and only marginally higher than the worst ratings for the party found by any pollster in recent years.
The 21-point lead enjoyed by David Cameron's party would be enough to secure him an extremely comfortable three-figure majority in the House of Commons if repeated at the General Election expected in 2010. It is the biggest advantage for the Tories ever recorded by ComRes for the Independent on Sunday.
Some 68% of those questioned - including 38% of Labour voters - said that they believe Labour will lose the next election whoever leads it, against just 22% who think the party still stands a chance of victory.
The poll also found that the Conservatives are thought more likely to be able to deal effectively with knife crime than Labour, by a narrow majority of 44% to 41%.
And as Gordon Brown visited troops in Iraq, it was revealed that some 66% of those questioned thought Britain should never have become involved in the country, against just 26% who said his predecessor Tony Blair was right to send the troops in.
And some 74% said that British troops should be withdrawn from Iraq "as soon as possible", against 18% who disagreed. Mr Brown today said he intends to reduce the UK's military commitment in Iraq, but declined to set a timetable for withdrawal.
ComRes interviewed 1,016 British adults by phone on July 16 and 17.
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