Cameron's popularity sinks

LONDON, June 22 (UPI) -- British voters are unhappy with Prime Minister David Cameron and the governing Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, a poll indicates.

For the first time, Cameron has a negative approval rating, with 47 percent giving him bad marks and 42 percent good, The Guardian/ICM poll released Monday said. While only 35 percent said the coalition is performing well, 50 percent said it is doing badly.

The Liberal Democrats' popularity is at its lowest point since 1997, with only 12 percent supporting it. And 54 percent of those polled said the party's leader, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, is doing a bad job, including 55 percent of those who voted for the party last year.

The poll did little to boost the hopes of the Labor Party. Its leader, Ed Milliband, is as unpopular as Clegg, and at 39 percent the party is only two percentage points ahead of the Conservatives.

On specific issues, the coalition has a significant lead on the economy and Labor on health and education. Labor is just behind the coalition on taxation and social services.

ICM Research interviewed 1,000 adults by telephone from Friday to Sunday. No margin of error was reported.