Tory lead over Labour narrows

London: The opinion poll lead of Britain's opposition Conservatives over Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party has narrowed to eight percentage points, according to a poll published Tuesday.

The Populus poll for the Times newspaper showed Labour on 30 per cent, up one point from early November, with the centre-right Conservatives down one point to 38 per cent and the Liberal Democrats up two at 20 per cent.

Political scientists say because of the way Britain's electoral system works, anything less than a 10-point Conservative lead raises the possibility of a hung parliament if replicated in a general election, which is due by June next year. The last hung parliament in which no party holds an overall majority was in 1974.

The figures are broadly in line with other recent surveys which show slight Labour gains, although most of the others including one released at the weekend suggested that the Conservatives would gain an overall majority.