Brown’s Support Among U.K. Voters Drops to Record Low, Poll Shows
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LONDON — Prime Minister Brown’s support among British voters fell to a record low as his government battles to prevent a recession and lawmakers campaigned against tax changes, a Populus Ltd. poll showed.
Backing for the ruling Labor Party fell 3 percentage points to 30%, the lowest in any Populus poll since Mr. Brown came to power last June. The opposition Conservatives had the backing of 40% of those surveyed.
Mr. Brown’s sagging ratings reflect declining confidence in his managerial competence at a time when the economy is slowing. More than 70 of Labor’s 351 lawmakers in the House of Commons have expressed concern about Mr. Brown’s decision to eliminate the lowest income tax bracket and are preparing to grill the government about the measure today.
Yesterday’s poll, published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper, is the first from Populus to show Mr. Brown’s Labor Party trailing David Cameron’s Conservatives by 10 points or more. Including surveys by other companies, it is the fifth of eight published since March 14 that give the Conservatives a double-digit lead.
The Liberal Democrats, Britain’s third-largest party, gained 2 points in yesterday’s Populus survey, giving them the backing of 19% of those interviewed.
Populus surveyed 1,006 adults by telephone on April 16 and 17. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points.
