Advertisement

UK PM Cameron's Conservatives take largest poll lead in 4 years

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron speaks at the Lord Mayor's banquet at the Guildhall in central London, November 10, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives have taken their largest Ipsos-MORI poll lead over the opposition Labour party in four years, according to the company's latest survey published on Wednesday, less than six months ahead of a national election. Ipsos MORI found 32 percent of voters planned to back the Conservatives while 29 percent said they would vote for Labour, the first time support for Labour has fallen below 30 percent since before the last election in 2010. The three-point lead for Cameron's party, its first in an Ipsos MORI poll since October 2010, is due in part to a collapse in support for Labour. Last month 33 percent of voters said they would back Labour, compared to 30 percent for the Conservatives. The survey of 1,011 adults was carried out Nov. 8-10 as Labour leader Ed Miliband was dogged by media reports that members of his party were conspiring to oust him due to fears his poor personal poll ratings were hampering their election chances. [ID:nL6N0SW6BQ] "It looks like it's had a significant effect on public opinion," said Bobby Duffy, Managing Director at Ipsos MORI. The poll found satisfaction with Miliband as Labour leader was at its lowest ever level, while 73 percent of voters did not think he was ready to be prime minister, including 53 percent of Labour supporters. Less than one in four said they thought the Labour party was ready to form the next government, the lowest score for an opposition party in more than 10 years. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Stephen Addison)