New poll gives Labour seven point lead
A new ICM poll has given Labour a clear seven point lead over the Conservatives.
And, it found that more voters want Gordon Brown to be the next Prime Minister than Tony Blair – by a tiny margin.
Twenty-seven per cent of respondents in the ICM poll for The News of the World said they wanted the Chancellor of the Exchequer as premier; 26 per cent opted for Mr Blair.
The poll found just 14 per cent wanted Conservative leader Michael Howard as the next Prime Minister, one percentage point down on the rating of Liberal Democrat counterpart, Charles Kennedy.
According to the poll, Labour have a seven point lead over the Conservatives – 38 per cent to 31 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats standing on 21 per cent.
The poll found half of voters backed the view that David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary, should be brought back into Cabinet after the general election.
ICM interviewed 1,030 adults between January 5th and 6th.
Conservative leader Mr Howard though dismissed the findings, saying opinion polls come and go and his party would not be underdogs at the next general election, expected on May 5th.
“There’s only one opinion poll that I’m interested in and that’s the one that will take place on election day,” he told Sky News.
“I think as we get our message across more about our detailed plans for how we can provide clean hospitals, school discipline, more police officers, bring immigration under control and lower taxes, I think we have every prospect of winning the election when it comes.”
Mr Howard said many voters had yet to make up their minds on which to vote. As such, he said he was very confident his party could persuade them that Britain needed a new direction and a new party.
