Poll indicates slipping support for Brown

LONDON, June 10 (UPI) -- A poll released Tuesday indicated British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's popular support was plunging as he prepared for a key vote on terrorism measures.

The Populus Poll found the ruling Labor Party's approval rating stood at 25 percent, down four points from a similar poll conducted last month, while the Conservative Party's approval rating went up five points to 45 percent, The Times of London reported. Labor's performance continues an eight-month slide that equals the Conservative Party's plunge in the 1990s, the Times said.

Brown's personal popularity also is continuing to take hits. Asked to rate him on a one-to-10 scale, poll respondents rated him 3.9, down from his peak of 5.5 shortly after taking office, the newspaper said.

The poll results were published as Brown made personal appeals to Parliament to support his proposal to lengthen the time suspected terrorists could be detained from 28 days to 42 days, seen as a key test of Labor's grip on power.

The Times said the poll interviewed a random sample of 1,508 adults across the country between June 6 and 8 with the results weighted to be representative.