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Labour at all-time low

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: A series of damaging rows over British Prime Minister Tony Blair's policies and allegations that donors to the Labour Party were promised peerages have sent the party's ratings crashing to an all-time low, according to a new opinion poll.

The findings of the ICM-Guardian survey came as Labour braced itself for a drubbing in next week's local elections fuelling speculation about Mr. Blair's political future. According to the poll, support for Labour has plunged to the "lowest point'' since its crushing defeat in 1987 general elections.

At the time, it took the party 10 years to win an election — returning to power only in 1997.

The poll, conducted in the wake of the cash-for-peerages scandal and controversies over public services, shows Labour two points behind Conservatives in terms of its share of the vote.

"The poll is bound to alarm Downing Street as it battles to prevent a drubbing for Tony Blair across England in the May 4 local elections, especially in the capital,'' The Guardian said.

Observers said it was likely to increase pressure on Mr. Blair to quit in order to prevent more damage to the party's electoral prospects.

He has already announced that this is his last term in office but has refused to indicate when he intends to leave.

Supporters of Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is widely tipped to take over want Mr. Blair to quit over the next few months to give his successor enough time to prepare the party for the next general elections though they are still at least three years away.

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