THE BRITISH Conservative Party, which has languished out of power for 12 years, is heading for a comfortable victory in next year’s House of Commons elections, according to the latest opinion poll.
Following summer controversies over MPs’ expenses, the loss of soldiers in Afghanistan, and the release of the Lockerbie bomber, the Conservatives now lead British prime minister Gordon Brown’s Labour Party by 14 points, or 42 per cent to 28 per cent.
If repeated in the election – which must take place before next June – the figures in the YouGov/Sun poll would make Tory leader David Cameron prime minister with a 96-seat majority.
The poll does show a 2 per cent rise in support for Labour.
However, Mr Brown, whose personal unpopularity is increasing among voters, continues to argue that the economy is improving and that he will be rewarded in time for the decisions taken in the past year.
Over the next month Mr Brown will have the opportunity to appear on the world stage when he attends the G20 meeting of the world’s richest nations in Pittsburgh in the US.
Mr Brown is named by just 19 per cent of those polled as the person best equipped to be prime minister, compared to 38 per cent who chose Mr Cameron.
Voters are still wary, however, that the Tories might not have the experience to rule.
The poll was taken before this week’s revelations about the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi. However, even on August 27th/28th, a narrow 51 per cent majority believed Mr Brown should have opposed the release.
Most worryingly for Mr Brown, the poll highlights the increasing unpopularity of the war in Afghanistan, with seven out of 10 voters believing his government is doing “a very bad” or “fairly bad” job of supporting the 9,000 British soldiers stationed there.
Twice as many voters believe the British army would be better off under Mr Cameron – a factor that could be important on polling day.
Responding to its own poll, the influential Sun tabloid – which sells more than three million copies daily – said it now “looks certain” that the Conservatives are heading back to Downing Street under Mr Cameron’s leadership.
While it is the first poll of the new political season, the latest findings mirror others since February 2008, which have consistently shown the Tories ahead, by up to 20 points on occasions.
