LONDON (AFP) — The Conservative Party has extended its opinion poll lead over Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party, according to a new poll.
The Populus survey for Tuesday's edition of The Times showed support for Labour dipped two percentage points since a month ago to 31 percent, while backing for the Conservatives rose three points to 40 percent.
The smaller opposition Liberal Democrats dropped two points to 17 percent.
Brown's government has struggled to narrow the poll gap in recent weeks, after a top minister resigned last month over a funding row, along with multiple losses of sensitive data.
The Tories, meanwhile, have had their own scandal, after a probe found a parliamentarian had misused public money to employ his son, and suspended him for 10 days, while the Tories have withdrawn the whip from him, meaning he is no longer affiliated to the party.
Populus interviewed 1,504 adults by telephone between February 1 and 3 for the poll.
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