British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is on course for a drubbing at European elections next week after a scandal over politicians' expenses damaged him far more than his rivals, an opinion poll showed on Saturday. His ruling Labour Party has slumped to a rare and politically embarrassing third place but the main opposition Conservatives also lost ground, although they retained a strong lead with 30 percent support.
The Populus survey for the Times newspaper said the UK Independence Party (UKIP), an anti-European body with no MPs in Britain's lower house of parliament, had 19 percent support, an increase of 13 points. Labour were third on 16 percent just ahead of the Liberal Democrats, who have also been hit by the MPs expenses scandal. Support for the centrist party fell eight points to 12 percent.
If repeated at the polls on Thursday, that result would deliver a severe blow to Brown, who is struggling to lead Britain out of its worst recession since World War Two and facing opposition calls to hold a snap parliamentary election. Support for Brown's centre-left government has crumbled after weeks of reports about lawmakers' claims for public money to pay for everything from manure to swimming pool repairs.
Lawmakers from all parties claimed inappropriate expenses, triggering calls for widespread reform of parliaments, but the scandal has inflicted the most damage on Brown and Labour. The Populus poll found that Labour had slipped to its lowest ever poll rating in the overall standings for the next parliamentary elections due by June 2010. The standings for the next parliamentary election put the Conservatives on 41 percent, up two points on last month, with Labour down five points on 21.
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