Poll boosts Conservative election hopes: report

LONDON (Reuters) - The Conservatives' hopes for a large election win have been boosted by a poll which puts the party well ahead in key parliamentary seats, the Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday.

The YouGov poll found voters were backing the centre-right Conservatives in the seats they will need to win from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's ruling Labour Party to secure a large majority at the next parliamentary election due by June 2010.

Most nationwide polls in recent months have put David Cameron's Conservatives well ahead of Labour.

But an Ipsos MORI survey last Sunday showed Brown had cut the lead, with Labour on 31 percent and the Conservatives on 37 percent, which would result in a hung parliament -- the first since 1974.

The Telegraph said the YouGov findings indicated that the Conservatives were faring better in marginal seats than nationwide, improving the party's chances of winning a significant victory.

The poll suggested that across the country as a whole the Conservatives were on 39 percent and Labour on 29 percent, which would leave Cameron short of a working majority.

However in 32 marginal seats currently held by Labour and potentially crucial in deciding which party will form the next government, the survey indicated a bigger swing in backing for the Conservatives.

In these seats, the Conservatives led Labour by 42 percent to 36 percent while at the last election in 2005, the Conservatives polled 34 percent with Labour on 44 percent.

Support for Labour, which has been in power since 1997, has eroded because of the longest recession on record, a damaging scandal over politicians' expenses and anger over military losses in Afghanistan.