Labour support has dropped to the lowest point since the party's heavy defeat in the 1987 general election, according to an ICM opinion poll for the Guardian. Its share of the vote has dropped by five points since March, putting it on 32%, two points behind the Conservatives.
The poll is bound to alarm Downing Street as it battles to prevent a drubbing for Tony Blair across England in the May 4 local elections, especially in the capital. It was conducted after weeks of damaging publicity for the government on issues such as "loans for peerages" and criticism about rising deficits in the health service.
The findings may also disturb David Cameron because they show Labour support is haemorrhaging to the Liberal Democrats, not the new-look Conservatives.
The Lib Dems have risen by three points to 24%, a remarkable improvement for a party mired in scandal at the start of its own leadership election two months ago. But Labour will be anxious that the slide comes as the government is being battered on the NHS. Mr Blair was forced to use his monthly Downing Street press conference yesterday to appeal for greater balance in reporting, as well to defend the health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, who was given a hostile reception while addressing delegates from the main public sector union, Unison.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1760808,00.htmlNice going, Tony. Quit now - we all hate you.