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LONDON - Opinion polls show that the Conservatives have slashed the Labour Party's lead, throwing into doubt any plans Prime Minister Gordon Brown had for an early election.
A poll in the Guardian newspaper showed the two parties had drawn level. An earlier version on the Guardian's website had shown Labour with a narrow one-point lead.
Other polls showed Labour leading by three or four points.
The voter soundings will come as a shock to Brown who had been considering taking advantage of Labour's earlier lead of up to 11 points to call a November election - two and a half years before he needs to.
Channel 4 News said several Labour MPs in marginal seats were urging Brown to delay an election.
Analysts say an early poll would be a gamble for Brown, who took over from Tony Blair in June and is aiming to bring Labour a fourth consecutive election victory.
If he lost, Brown would go down as one of the shortest serving prime ministers in British history. If he failed to increase Labour's parliamentary majority of 64 at the 2005 election it would undermine his authority.
"It definitely means we are still on tenterhooks," said John Curtice, politics professor at Strathclyde University.
The polls show the Conservatives' promises at their annual conference this week of a tax break for people buying their first home and a cut in an unpopular inheritance tax have struck a chord with voters.
Boost for Cameron
They also give a victory to Conservative leader David Cameron, whose been under pressure as his poll ratings slipped and right-wingers resisted his efforts to shift the party to the centre.
"What you've seen is a real fight back from the Conservative Party this week based on real policy ... I hope he (Brown) goes ahead and calls that election and we can put that choice in front of the British people," Cameron told reporters.
The revised ICM poll for the Guardian, from a sample of 1,008 people, showed Labour and Conservatives level on 38 per cent, with Labour having lost eight points in a month.
A Populus poll for the Times showed Labour's lead tightening to three points, with Labour on 39 points and the Conservatives on 36.
A YouGov poll for Channel 4 television showed Labour's lead slipping to four points from 11 points. Labour was on 40 per cent to the Conservatives' 36.
Government officials have made plans to bring forward major announcements, including public spending plans, to early next week in case Brown decides to announce next Tuesday he is calling a November 1 election.
Cameron piled pressure on Brown to reveal his election plans on Thursday, asking the prime minister to let Conservatives hold pre-election meetings with senior ministry officials.
This was so the officials would be ready to implement Conservative policies if the party won an election.
- REUTERS
