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Positive progress for Labour in polls

22/07/2008

Labour recovered five percentage points in July, a poll shows, but are still a long way behind in the popularity stakes.

The Guardian/ICM monthly survey handed the Conservatives a 15-point lead, with David Cameron's party down two per cent on 43 per cent.

Labour is up three per cent to 28 per cent but is still only nine per cent above the Liberal Democrats, who are down one point to 19 per cent.

Despite the positive development for Labour supporters the governing party still has a serious deficit to make up. A failure to make up ground would have resulted in another worse-ever poll result for Labour, after the 42-day pre-charge detention vote failed to stop the Tories taking a record 20-point lead in June.

This year's data does not make for comforting reading, however, as the poll suggests four out of five people believe Britain faces a recession in the imminent future.

Last weekend saw reports that the chancellor is facing rewriting the fiscal rules because of the government's growing budget deficit and this may be reflected in the pessimism seen over the government's ability to manage the downturn.

Mr Brown has pinned his premiership on the success of the economy. But under a third said they would prefer Mr Brown and Alistair Darling managing the purse-strings, compared to nearly half for the Tory alternative of Mr Cameron and George Osborne.