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LONDON - Britain's new prime minister, Gordon Brown, will take office this week with his Labour Party ahead of its Conservative rivals for the first time in eight months, a poll showed today.
The poll, in the Observer newspaper, put support for Labour at 39 per cent and the Conservatives at 36 per cent.
Forty per cent of voters believed Brown would make a more capable prime minister, compared to just 22 per cent who prefer his Conservative rival David Cameron.
The veteran finance minister Brown takes office as prime minister later this week when Tony Blair steps down after 10 years in power. Their Labour Party has badly lagged Cameron's Conservatives in polls since last October.
Brown will take over from Blair as leader of the Labour Party on Sunday and find out who has been elected to serve as the party's deputy leader, a vote which could have some impact on the shape of the cabinet he names when he takes office.
He will take over as prime minister when Blair steps down later this week.
Brown's supporters hope his stature as a veteran heavyweight will help him beat back a challenge from the youthful Cameron, who has overseen a revival for the Conservatives in opinion polls after three straight election defeats to Blair.
- REUTERS
