Poll shows Labour behind Conservatives

LONDON (Reuters) - The Labour Party is 14 points behind the Conservatives, its worst showing for more than 20 years, an opinion poll in the Guardian showed on Tuesday.

The poll, published ahead of a parliamentary by-election on Thursday in north-west England, showed confidence in Labour's ability to govern has dropped sharply and most Labour voters now think Tony Blair was a better prime minister than Brown.

Support for Labour stood at 27 percent, down seven points from the previous month, and the lowest level recorded since the Guardian began its ICM polling series in 1984.

The Conservatives were on 41 percent, up two points, and the Liberal Democrats were up three points at 22 percent.

Brown has stumbled over a series of policy decisions, most damagingly a self-inflicted row over a tax change that hurt the poorest.

Labour lost heavily in local elections last month in England and Wales and was beaten into third place in the overall vote behind the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

The ICM/Guardian poll appeared to lay most of the blame for Labour's poor performance at Brown's feet. His rating as a party leader showed him lagging way behind Blair, who left office in June last year.

Brown's leadership comes under further scrutiny in Thursday's Crewe parliamentary by-election where most opinion polls suggest Labour is likely to lose the seat.

ICM conducted the poll between May 16 and 18, surveying 1,008 adults across the country by telephone. The next national election is due by May 2010.

(Reporting by Kate Kelland. Editing by Robert Woodward)