Labour's support 'at record low'

May 8 2008

Gordon Brown faced a fresh blow as an opinion poll put the Tories a huge 26% ahead of Labour, whose support fell to its the lowest on record at just 23%.

David Cameron's Opposition, fresh from success at the ballot box last week, secured the support of almost half of voters (49%) in the YouGov survey for The Sun.

Labour's support was even lower than the share of the vote it received in the local election mauling that has heaped massive pressure on the Prime Minister.

The poor results for the Government came a fortnight before Labour faces a crunch by-election in Crewe and Nantwich, a seat the Conservatives hope to wrest from it.

There was some good news for the PM in the poll: his party would be even less popular if it were led by the favourites among his colleagues to succeed him - or even predecessor Tony Blair.

The Sun said Labour's score was the lowest since poll records began in the 1930s.

It said the Tories' lead was their second biggest in that time and unmatched since 1968.