(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-16 20:17

LONDON - Today's YouGov poll of almost 1,500 people shows that the Tories are in their strongest position for more than 15 years with a 13-point lead, according to a report of the Sunday Times.

The Tories are on 45 percent, compared with 32 percent for Labour and 14 percent the Liberal Democrats, the poll shows.

A month ago, the figures were 41 percent for the Tories, 35 percent for Labour and 13 percent for the Liberal Democrats.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's political reputation was built on his management of the economy, the Sunday Times reported. Now, amid fears of recession, a fall in house prices and a rise in unemployment, Brown's ratings are plummeting.

The poll also shows an unprecedented drop in Brown's personal ratings, the paper reported. At the height of the Brown "honeymoon" in August, the prime minister had a net approval rating of 48 percent, the difference between those saying he was doing a good job and those saying he was doing badly.

In October, when he was agonizing over whether to call an early election, his approval rating was still a healthy 30 percent, but it dropped to minus 10 percent last month and is down to minus 26 percent this month.