Labour popularity in polls plummets

12 April 2012

Labour's popularity has slumped to its lowest level since polling began amid a series of scandals and renewed speculation over Gordon Brown's leadership.

Research for the Mail on Sunday found the party's support had dropped three points over the past month to just 23% - even lower than when Michael Foot was at the helm in the 1980s.

The fall gives the Tories a massive 22% advantage, enough for a landslide victory if repeated at a general election.

The dire position was reinforced by a separate YouGov poll for the Sunday Times, which suggested Labour's support had tumbled 7% to 27% - 16 points behind the Conservatives.

The news is likely to heighten anxiety among Labour MPs over whether Mr Brown is the right man to lead them. Last month's Budget highlighted the deteriorating state of the UK's finances, and moves such as the introduction of a new 50% top tax rate sparked anger.

Mr Brown's personal judgment was called into question when one of his closest aides, Damian McBride, was forced to quit after planning false smears against senior Tories.

The premier's YouTube video outlining MP expenses reforms was widely mocked, and he was forced to stage a double climbdown over scrapping the second homes allowance in the same week as he suffered a humiliating Commons defeat on Gurkhas' residency rights.

The last few days have been dominated by revelations over parliamentary expenses claims by Mr Brown and his ministers - although the polls were only carried out as details of that started to emerge.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Labour's 23% rating is the lowest since opinion polling techniques were first used in the UK in 1943. Under Mr Foot's leadership the party's support only sank to 23.5%.

More than half those polled (52%) believe the PM should stand down, and 72% think he is doing a "fairly bad" or "very bad" job. The Sunday Times research found that 61% of people were convinced that Mr Brown had "completely lost authority".

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