MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Poll shows Tory leader Cameron as next British PM with 96-seat majority

Voters not convinced about Cameron’s team or policies

Britain’s main opposition Tories could be heading for a 96-seat Commons majority at the next general election, a poll has revealed. Conservative leader David Cameron currently has a 42% share of the vote, with Labour trailing on 28% and the Liberal Democrats on 17%, according to the YouGov survey for The Sun newspaper.

The opinion poll is the first of the party conference season, just months before the Prime Minister has to call an election.

Mr Cameron will be buoyed by results that show voters believe he would make a better Prime Minister than Gordon Brown by a factor of two to one. But only 34% believe the Tory leader has the right team to lead the country - compared to 42% who disagree.

Voters are evenly split, at 41% either way, over whether or not he has the right policies to rule.

The survey also asked voters their views on the Afghanistan conflict - with seven out of ten saying British troops were being let down by the Government. Some 68% said ministers were doing a “bad job” of supporting soldiers on the front line.

And nearly three quarters - 73% - agreed that troops should be paid more when they go to war than in peacetime. YouGov surveyed 1,996 adults between August 27 and 28.