Labour reclaims lead in opinion poll

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, NOV. 30. Misery is piling up for the Tories and even as Mr. William Hague is caught up in a leadership struggle, an opinion poll today showed a further decline in the party's popularity with the Labour seeming set to win the next summer's general elections.

Forty-eight per cent of the people said they would vote for the Labour Party if there were a general election ``tomorrow'', with the Conservatives being favoured by only 33 per cent and the Liberal Democrats by a mere 13 per cent. The MORI poll published in The Times puts the Labour back to the high ratings it had in the summer, confirming that it has firmly retrieved the ground it lost in September following the widespread protests over fuel and pension. At one time in September, the party had plunged to an all-time low giving the Tories a slight edge. The Blair Government fought back and a please-all financial package announced by the Chancellor, Mr. Gordon Brown, early this month helped it win back the support of its hardcore voters who had begun to complain.

The Labour's clean sweep of last week's three parliamentary byelections confirmed that it was back on the rails even as gloom enveloped the Tories. The election results triggered a leadership crisis in the Tory party with both the ``right'' and the ``moderate'' factions blaming the rout on Mr. Hague's policies and calling for a new strategy for the general elections.

His critics accuse him of not having been able to cash in on the Government's difficulties on a host of problems affecting the people, particularly the worst-ever crisis in the railways and the widespread dissatisfaction with the National Health Service. That he is perceived to be weak and lacking in leadership skill is confirmed by the opinion poll which shows that his personal popularity is down by three points since the last poll in October. He is the least popular of the three political leaders, trailing behind even the Liberal Democratic leader, Mr. Charles Kennedy.

The Times pointed out that the poll was conducted before the byelection results and the leadership turmoil. Its findings are likely to inflame further the anti- Hague sentiment within the party.

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Section  : International
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