Poll blow for Howard
Most Conservative Party members do not rate Michael Howard’s chances of ousting Tony Blair from power at the next General Election, according to a new poll.
In the Guardian/ICM poll of 300 party members, less than half (44 per cent) said the Conservatives would be returned to power at the next election.
But looking to the long term, the same figure said the Conservatives would win in the election after.
Over half (58 per cent) said Mr Howard was the right man to fight a second general election.
One in ten (11 per cent) said he should stand down immediately.
In terms of potential leadership contenders, in the short to medium term, interviewees nominated his predecessor William Hague, shadow Home Secretary David Davis and Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin.
In a separate poll for the left-leaning newspaper, Labour was eight points ahead of the Tories on 38 per cent the biggest gap since Mr Duncan Smith faced an assault on his leadership in the summer of 2003.
Should the difference be reflected at the next General Election, Labour would win power with a majority of more than 120.
Mr Blair’s approval rating stood at 41 per cent, with Mr Howard on 33 per cent.
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,009 adults aged 18 and over between November 12-14.
