LONDON, April 29 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair's popularity has slumped to its lowest level since he took office in 1997, a poll found.
Only 32 percent of those surveyed by the YouGov Poll for the Sunday Times approved of Blair's performance, down 3 points in a week. But the Conservatives are also down 3 points to 35 percent, suggesting that minority parties could do well in Wednesday's local elections, the newspaper said.
The poll was taken Thursday and Friday, after "Black Wednesday" when a series of scandals rocked the Labor Party. A majority of those surveyed think several British officials should be dismissed -- including Home Secretary Charles Clarke, who has admitted problems tracking foreign inmates in British prisons; Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who was caught in a sex scandal; and Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, who was booed by a nurses' group during a speech.
The poll found that 57 percent think the Blair government is "sleazy and incompetent" and 58 percent say it is "on its last legs," inviting comparisons with the last days of John Major's Tory government a decade ago.
