The Labour Party has doubled its lead over the Nationalist Party and is almost 10 points clear, according to a survey commissioned by The Sunday Times.

The gap between both parties has widened since January when a similar survey found Labour was ahead by just over four points.

If an election was held tomorrow, 31.9 per cent of respondents said they would vote Labour while 22.2 per cent would vote for the PN. Alternattiva Demokratika lag behind with one per cent.

However, a significant number of those polled were undecided (19.4 per cent) or refused to divulge their voting intentions (18.6 per cent). Another seven per cent said they would not vote.

The telephone survey, conducted by Misco International, randomly polled 500 respondents between July 2 and 4.

If those who did not declare how they would vote are excluded from the results, Labour would storm ahead with almost 58 per cent of the popular vote. The PN would trail behind with slightly more than 40 per cent and AD with just under two per cent.

But more significant than the overall result was the continued swing towards Labour from voters who said they voted PN at the last general election. The survey found that nine per cent of PN voters in 2008 would shift to Labour, an increase from the 5.8 per cent registered in January.

Approval and disapproval ratings show a mixed set of results. The survey showed that 39 per cent of respondents were satisfied with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s leadership while 47 per cent were dissatisfied.

Just over 34 per cent of respondents were satisfied with Labour leader Joseph Muscat’s leadership against 29 per cent who were not. However, almost 34 per cent of those interviewed were undecided about Dr Muscat’s leadership, in contrast with 11.5 per cent who were undecided about Dr Gonzi’s leadership.

Almost six per cent of 2008 Labour voters said they were satisfied with Dr Gonzi’s leadership while Dr Muscat received the approval of 13 per cent of those who voted PN at the last election.

Almost 49 per cent of respondents believe the Prime Minister should call an early election while nearly 34 per cent said there was no need for early polls, while 16 per cent were undecided.

As expected, the majority of those wanting an early election voted Labour in 2008 but they were joined by 14 per cent who voted PN.

See also: Gonzi’s tough job as PL races ahead