MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

British voters want snap election; Labour support down to 22%

Alistair Darling's Budget was seen by some as the death of New Labour

Almost two in three British voters believe a general election should be called as soon as possible amid mounting public anger about Member of Parliaments' taxpayer-funded expense claims, a poll has revealed.

The ComRes survey for BBC2's Daily Politics programme found 65% agreed, compared with 33% who disagreed. And a similar number (64%) said they believed politicians “named and shamed” in newspaper revelations should be forced to quit Parliament, while 34% disagreed.

The expenses controversy, the poll suggests, may not badly affect turnout at next month's local and Euro elections despite fears of a stay-away.

Although 28% said they were less likely to vote as a result, 25% said it had made them more eager to cast their ballot while 47% said it would not affect their decision.

An earlier poll showed support for Labour had slumped to 22% as the expenses scandal rages on.

The YouGov survey of general election voting plans for The Sun put the party well behind the Conservatives on 41%, and just one percentage point ahead of the Liberal Democrats' 21%.

If replicated at the next election, the results would hand the Tories a 152-seat House of Commons majority, it was calculated. That would see Labour Cabinet ministers including Jack Straw, Alistair Darling and Jacqui Smith among those losing their seats.

ComRes spoke to 1,011 voters between May 13 and 14.