Government narrows Tory lead: poll

LONDON (AFP) - The Labour Party has narrowed the opposition Conservatives' lead, according to an opinion poll published on Tuesday, though it remains markedly behind the Tories.

An ICM poll for The Guardian showed backing for Prime Minister Gordon Brown's party stood at 28 percent, a three percentage point increase from last month, while the Conservatives saw support fall two points to 43 percent.

The smaller opposition Liberal Democrats fell one point to 19 percent.

Despite narrowing the Tories' lead, Labour's 15-point deficit is still the second-largest ever in the history of the Guardian/ICM poll, which extends to 1984.

Labour's long-held lead in economic competence has also flipped over to the opposition, the survey showed -- the 20-point lead held by Brown and finance minister Alistair Darling over their Conservative opposite numbers in October has since turned into a 19-point deficit.

According to the poll, 80 percent of voters believe the country is headed for a recession, and 60 percent say they are cutting back on their spending.

ICM questioned 1,007 adults over the telephone between July 18 and 20 for the poll.

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