International News
Polls show rise in UK opp s lead over Labour
Posted on: Mon March 08, 2010
International Highlights
LONDON: Britain s opposition Conservative Party increased its lead over the ruling Labour Party, according to new opinion polls published Sunday.
But the new polls still suggested Britain might be headed for a hung parliament after the general election, with no one party enjoying an overall majority.
An ICM poll for the tabloid weekly News of the World gave the Conservatives 40 percent, with Labour trailing at 31 percent and Britain s third party, the centrist Liberal Democrats, at 18 percent.
A second poll by YouGov for The Sunday Times gave the Conservatives 38 percent and Labour 33 percent with the Liberal Democrats at 17 percent.
Both polls showed the main opposition improving its lead over Prime Minister Gordon Brown s Labour Party, reversing a trend since mid-February that had seen the Tories poll lead over Labour slipping away.
But according to an analysis by the News of the World, this result, if translated into a general election result, would not be enough to give Conservative leader David Cameron an overall parliamentary majority.
And according to the YouGov poll, 55 percent of respondents thought Lord Michael Ashcroft, one of the Conservatives biggest donors and their deputy chairman, had hurt his party because of the row over his tax status.
Ten years after being appointed to parliament s unelected upper House of Lords, Ashcroft confirmed Monday he has non-domicile status, meaning he does not pay tax in Britain on his foreign earnings.
Courtesy : The News