Just days away from Britain's June 7th general election, the Labour Party has lost a small amount of its lead in the polls but is still set for a huge win, according to three new surveys released today.
An NOP survey for the Sunday Timesgave Labour a 17-point advantage, two points down on its lead for the last two weeks.
The poll puts Labour on 47 per cent, the opposition Conservatives on 30 per cent (unchanged) and the Liberal Democrats, the third largest party, on 16 per cent (up two points).
The newspaper says this would give Labour a massive 217-seat majority in the House of Commons.
The survey also showed those polled said by 43 to 38 per cent they would prefer a Labour government inside the euro to a Conservative government that remained outside the single currency.
The Tories have made opposition to the euro a central platform of their campaign, but the poll indicates that while public hostility to the single currency remains strong in Britain it is not enough to swing the election in the Tories' favour.
A ICM poll in Sunday's Observernewspaper of 1,005 voters gives the state of the parties as Labour 46 per cent (down two points), Conservatives 34 per cent (up two), and Liberal Democrats 15 per cent (unchanged).
Meanwhile, an ICM survey for Sunday's News of the Worldin the 139 most marginal seats where the Tories came first or second in the last election in 1997 predicts a Labour majority of 197 compared to its present 179 margin over all other parties.
Labour currently holds 417 seats in the 659-seat House of Commons, the Tories 160, the Liberal Democrats - Britain's third largest party - 47.
Previous polls have consistently given Labour a lead of up to 19 points.
A Channel 4 News poll published late yesterday gave Labour 43 per cent with the Conservatives 12 points behind on 31 per cent.
Labour has become increasingly worried that polls consistently pointing to a landslide win could discourage their supporters from turning out on Thursday.
The party issued a statement Saturday, saying: "Our message is if you want a Labour government you have got to go out and vote for it."
AFP