Blair expected to call election
The Prime Minister is expected to visit Buckingham Palace this morning to ask the Queen to dissolve parliament later this week ahead of the general election on May 5.
Tony Blair had intended to make the declaration on Monday but instead attended a memorial service for the late Pope John Paul II, who died on Saturday.
The Government will now have only two days, April 6 and 7, to “mop up” legislation ahead of the Monday’s dissolution of parliament.
Controversial bills on ID cards and religious incitement may be shelved until after the election.
Should a May 5 be held, voters will also cast ballots to decide the make-up of 34 county councils across England, three unitary authorities, council elections in Northern Ireland and mayoralties in four English towns.
But in bad news for Labour, a string of newspaper polls today show Labour’s lead significantly cut.
The latest Populus poll for The Times – undertaken over the weekend – has the Conservatives only two per cent behind Labour on 35 per cent, the highest level of support for the official opposition since last May. The Liberal Democrats are down one at 19 per cent.
Less than a quarter of voters (22 per cent) said they were satisfied with Labour “overall”.
But on the other side of the coin, a third said they were dissatisfied with Labour but preferred the Government to the Tories.
That said, seven out of ten respondents (72 per cent) believed Labour would secure a third term of power (including half of Tory supporters) albeit with a reduced majority in the Commons. Just over one in ten predicted a Tory majority.
While more than half of respondents (52 per cent) said Mr Blair has been a good premier, less than a quarter (23 per cent) preferred Mr Howard. Over six out of ten (62 per cent) preferred Mr Blair to Mr Howard.
Populus interviewed 1,513 adults aged over 18 by telephone between April 1 and 3.
Meanwhile, an ICM survey for The Guardian puts Labour on 37 percentage points with the Tories on 34 per cent. ICM forecasts a reduced turnout of 56 per cent at the election, down from 59 per cent in 2001.
Elsewhere, a NOP poll for The Independent has Labour on 36 per cent, with the Tories on 33 and the Lib Dems on 21.
Bucking the trend somewhat, a MORI study for The Financial Times sees Labour five points behind the Tories (39 per cent).
Should that poll reflect results at the election, Labour would have a small majority of 27, the FT said.
Bookmakers Ladbrokes have Labour at 1-16-on to win with the Tories 7-1 against and the Lib Dems 100-1 against.
