UK Conservatives increase poll lead

The British Conservative Party have stretched their poll lead in the wake of British Chancellor Alistair Darling’s Budget package, a poll showed.

Research by ComRes for the Independent gave David Cameron’s party a seven-point advantage over Labour, on 37% to 30%.

The Conservatives’ rating was unchanged from last month, while Labour’s had dipped by 2%. The Lib Dems were up a point on 20%.

However, the results would leave Mr Cameron 31 seats short of an overall majority if repeated evenly across the UK at a general election.

The poll also suggested that although people are not keen on another five years of Gordon Brown, there is little appetite for the Tories.

Half of those quizzed said it would be unthinkable for Gordon Brown to continue as Prime Minister. But 51% said they personally felt no enthusiasm for the Conservatives.

Some 38% of people believed the country would be better off if the election delivered a hung Parliament, while 53% disagreed.

In a separate poll – by Opinium for the Daily Express – - also carried out after the Budget – showed that the Conservative advantage had risen from seven points to 10 over the past week.

The party was up one on 38%, while Labour was down two on 28%.

The Lib Dems were up three on 18%.

The findings would give Mr Cameron a narrow eight-seat majority if repeated evenly across the country at a general election, the newspaper calculated.