A hung parliament in Britain looks increasingly likely as the main opposition Conservative's lead over the ruling Labour Party slips, an opinion poll published today showed.
The Populus poll for the London Times newspaper found support for prime minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party up two points from last month at 30 per cent, while the centre-right Conservatives were down one point at 40 per cent.
The projections, in line with other recent polls, suggest the Conservatives would be three seats short of an overall parliamentary majority if repeated in an election due by June, the paper said.
The poll also showed a third of voters expect a hung parliament, up from 22 per cent in December last year.
This could hand the balance of power to the centrist Liberal Democrats who gained one point over the past month to 20 per cent.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable told the Financial Times yesterday that concerns in the financial markets of a hung parliament were "completely and totally irrational".
Populus interviewed a random sample of 1,502 adults aged 18 plus between February 5th and 7th for the poll, the Times said.
Reuters