Hung parliament on the cards as poll puts big two closer

THE prospect of a hung parliament looks to have increased yesterday as Labour's fightback in the polls took them closer to the Tories.

Support for Labour increased by 2 per cent to 33 per cent according to the latest YouGov poll, leaving them six points behind the Conservatives on 39 per cent, down 1 per cent. The Liberal Democrats support also dropped 1 per cent to just 17 per cent.

The YouGov polling data was released a day after Labour's relaunch under a new slogan: "A future fair for all." However, the research was carried out before the event. Labour strategists hoped that this will give them a further boost and that the allegations about bullying by Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be ignored.

The poll is significant because most analysts believe that the Conservatives need to win by 10 per cent of the popular vote to have a majority, although they only need a small lead to be the biggest party in Westminster.

If there was a hung parliament, the Liberal Democrats are still the most likely party to hold the balance of power, while the Conservatives are clear favourites to be the biggest party. However, the YouGov poll suggested that Liberal Democrat supporters would rather their leader Nick Clegg worked with Labour than the Tories in that scenario by a margin of 34 per cent to 22 per cent.

The electorate's verdict on economic policies in the YouGov poll was a poor one for both the main parties.

While 64 per cent do not trust Mr Brown and his Chancellor, Alistair Darling, only a tiny fraction less – 63 per cent – doubt Mr Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne's abilities.

YouGov polled 1,472 British adults on 18 and 19 February and data was weighted to reflect the profile of the population.

Tory grandee Lord Heseltine yesterday said that he believed a hung parliament was the most likely outcome and that Mr Cameron would struggle to govern for a full term. "If I was a betting man, my money would be on the election resulting in a hung parliament with David Cameron as prime minister," he said.

"I think you won't see a full parliament, that's for sure. There are a range of people who are supporting the Labour Party who would never have supported it over the 1960s or Seventies. People think I'm being cautious, but that's not a bad place to be."

Launching his latest party slogan this weekend, Mr Brown painted the Tories as the party "of the few", and said only Labour understood the priorities of the "mainstream majority".

"I know that Labour hasn't done everything right. And I know – really, I know – that I'm not perfect," he told the audience, which also included several senior Cabinet ministers.

"If you, like me, are from Britain's mainstream majority, from an ordinary family that wants to get on and not simply get by, then my message to you today is simple: take a second look at us, and take a long hard look at them," an upbeat Mr Brown said.

A Tory spokesman said the party would need a "significant" swing to secure a clear majority – gaining more seats than at any time since 1931 – but that it remained "determined" to do so.