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Brown 'bounce' is over: poll

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-20 19:11

LONDON -- Prime Minister Gordon Brown's resurgence in popularity has slowed, according to a poll published on Saturday which showed his Labour Party falling further behind the Tories.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's resurgence in popularity has slowed, according to a poll published in the Daily Telegraph Saturday. [Agencies]

The YouGov survey for the Daily Telegraph shows Labour now trailing by seven points, up from a gap of four in the same poll last month.

It puts the Conservatives on 42 percent, up two percent, and Labour on 35 percent, a fall of one percent.

Labour fell behind the Conservatives after a disastrous showing in local elections and by-elections earlier in the year, but they closed the gap as Brown gained credit for his handling of the economic crisis.

But the latest survey appears to show the "bounce" is over and it could dampen speculation about Brown calling a general election next year, ahead of the May 2010 deadline.

However, an ICM poll for The Guardian newspaper on Tuesday painted a rosier picture for Labour, putting them on 33 percent to 38 percent for the Conservatives.

Brown insisted on Friday that he was focusing on the economic difficulties facing the nation, saying: "I'm giving no thought to an election."