Poll shows Tories ahead but doubts on economy

By Jodie Ginsberg

LONDON (Reuters) - The Conservatives are well ahead ofLabour in opinion polls, a survey published on Sunday showed, but they are struggling to convince voters about their ability to handle the economy.

An ICM poll for The Sunday Telegraph newspaper put support for the Conservative Party at 43 percent, unchanged from September. Support for the Labour Party was at 30 percent.

If the figures were repeated in a general election, due by mid-2010, the Conservatives would win with a clear majority.

But the opposition has yet to convince voters it is the best party to handle an economic downturn.

Some 40 percent of voters surveyed by ICM chose Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his finance minister, Alistair Darling, when asked who they most trusted to steer them through the economic downturn, against 38 percent for the Conservatives.

Just months ago, some Labour members openly questioned Brown's leadership after the party lost a series of elections for parliamentary seats and fell behind in the polls.

But Brown's handling of the global financial crisis has lifted his standing within his party, and with voters, despite economists' warnings that Britain is on the brink of recession.

On Friday, Labour scored a surprise win in a Scottish election for a parliamentary seat left vacant by the sitting politician's death. The constituency, Glenrothes, was next door to Brown's own and he personally campaigned there.