By Xinhua
London : Britain’s ruling Labour Party’s approval ratings have slumped to their lowest level since 1983, a survey showed Sunday.
Labour’s support rate slipped to 27 percent, 16 points behind the opposition Conservatives, amid growing concerns over the government’s economic competence, The Sunday Times reported.
Analysts said if the poll results were repeated in a general election, Conservative leader David Cameron would lead his party to victory with an overwhelming majority of 120 seats in the House of Commons, while cabinet ministers, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, would lose their seats in parliament.
The main cause of the swing to the Conservatives is the collapse of faith in Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Darling’s stewardship of the economy, according to the survey.
Eighty-three percent of the respondents believed that the economy would either slow down over the next 12 months or slide into recession.
Only 21 percent of those polled said they would trust Labour more than the Conservatives in terms of raising the standard of living for their families.
The poll result makes it less likely that Brown would call a general election next year, the report said. The general election is due in 2010.