Pressure piling on Gordon Brown

Britain's ruling Labour Party needs to get rid of Gordon Brown to salvage any chance of winning the next election, an opinion poll found.

The poll, in the News of the World newspaper, is the latest to show that the prime minister lacks the support of the British public and that the opposition Conservative Party is on course for victory.

The poll by YouGov gave the Conservatives a lead of 20 percentage points over Labour, putting it on track for a landslide.

Asked how they would vote in a general election, 46 percent of people said they would support the Conservatives versus 26 percent for Labour.

The government must call a general election by mid-2010.

YouGov found that 46 percent of voters wanted the prime minister to stand down, against 36 percent who wanted him to stay. Forty-nine percent said they would prefer former prime minister Tony Blair as leader to Mr Brown.

Twenty-one percent said they would be more likely to vote Labour if Mr Brown was not leader.

"If Labour are to have any hope of wooing the electorate then a change at the top may restore their fortunes, but it is no magic bullet," said Ben Glanville of YouGov.

Asked which Labour parliamentarian would be the best prime minister, only 12 percent chose Foreign Secretary David Miliband -- widely seen as the party's best chance to beat Conservative leader David Cameron -- against 10 percent for Mr Brown.

Seven percent supported Justice Secretary Jack Straw and three percent preferred Health Secretary Alan Johnson. Thirty-eight percent voted for none of those four.

Thirty-two percent of those surveyed said they did not trust Mr Brown to run the economy.

Mr Brown's poll ratings have been hit by the credit crunch, which has weakened economic growth and caused house prices to slide, and by policy mistakes. He is also suffering from general disillusionment with Labour, in power since 1997.

A loss of a once safe parliamentary seat in an election in Scotland last month fuelled speculation that Mr Brown could face a challenge to his year-old leadership of Labour.

YouGov questioned 2,031 adults between Wednesday and Friday.