LONDON, June 7 (UPI) -- David Cameron's resurgent Conservative Party has opened up a seven point lead over the ruling British Labor Party, according to a poll published Wednesday.
Six months after the 39-year-old took the reins, a "poll of polls" for the Independent newspaper said the Tories garnered 39 percent of the vote -- up four points since April -- ahead of Labor at 32 percent -- down one point -- and the Liberal Democrats at 19 percent -- down two points.
The findings will disturb Labor parliamentarians, many of whom believe the party's fortunes will not be reversed until Tony Blair steps down as leader. The figures suggest that the Tory revival is almost entirely due to the "Cameron effect" as the two parties have swapped places in the polls since he assumed the leadership in December. Last November, Labor had a six-point advantage.
"It looks as though we may have entered a new political era," said John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, who compiled the weighted average of eight polls conducted by ICM, MORI, Populus and YouGov.
"While individual polls have sometimes put the Conservatives ahead in recent years, this is the first time that all the pollsters have agreed that the Tories are in the lead."
The government took a beating by the Conservatives in May's local elections, following a series of crises including the accidental release of foreign prisoners, allegations of political corruption and job cuts in the National Health Service.
Curtice said: "The challenge for the Conservatives now will be to maintain their lead through June and into the summer, once the bloom of the local elections has passed. If they do, then Labor's 14-year-long dominance of the electoral scene will clearly finally be over."
