Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is riding out rivals' attacks over Iraq to hold a big lead ahead of Britain's May 5th election.
Two new polls showed Mr Blair ahead by 10 and eight percentage points over the main opposition Conservatives - a gap that would comfortably hand him a third term.
But Mr Blair's satisfaction at the polls will have been tempered by the embarrassing defection of a veteran left-winger from his Labour Party to the anti-war Liberal Democrats.
Brian Sedgemore (68), who has frequently voted against Mr Blair, said Labour no longer represented liberal Britain and tore into his former boss over Iraq, anti-terrorism laws and handling of public services.
"I urge everyone from the centre and left of British politics to give Blair a bloody nose at the general election," he said. "The stomach-turning lies on Iraq were followed by the attempt to use the politics of fear to drive through parliament a deeply authoritarian set of law and order measures."
Mr Sedgemore's attack compounded a shift in the election campaign since the weekend to focus on Iraq.
After weeks of debate on domestic issues, Conservative leader Michael Howard accused Mr Blair of lying about intelligence on Iraq's banned weapons; the Liberal Democrats demanded an inquiry into Mr Blair's case for war in 2003.