Support for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour party has slumped to its lowest level since opinion polls began after embarrassing revelations over parliamentarians' expenses.
A BPIX poll for the Mail on Sunday newspaper gave Labour 23 per cent with the Conservatives on 45, enough to give the main opposition party a landslide victory if repeated at a parliamentary election due by mid-2010.
The paper said the survey showed that, for the first time, a majority of voters - 52 per cent - believe Mr Brown should stand down. The results were the worst for Labour since 1943.
A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times put Labour's support at 27 per cent - 16 points behind the Conservatives and seven points down on last month.
Mr Brown's centre-left government has been weakened by a deluge of negative headlines and the row over MPs' expenses has been particularly damaging when voters are tightening their belts as recession grips Britain.
The government is under fire for its handling of the financial crisis, and its standing has also been damaged by scurrilous emails sent by one of Mr Brown's staff and an embarrassing parliamentary defeat on the right of former Nepalese Gurkha soldiers to settle in Britain.
Joanna Lumley, a popular television actress, has led a high-profile campaign on behalf of the Gurkhas, giving the impression she is controlling the agenda on the issue.
On Friday, the right-leaning Daily Telegraph began publishing leaks about Labour MPs' expense claims that have tarnished the reputations of both cabinet and junior ministers.
The paper has continued to offer details on claims for thousands of pounds spent on second homes, personal security, nappies and comics. Other ministers claimed for home improvements, furnishings and work on their gardens.
Labour faces local and European elections on June 4 and a bad performance is likely to reignite speculation about whether Brown should lead the party into the parliamentary election.
Energy and Climate Change Minister Ed Miliband acknowledged it had been a "very bad couple of weeks" but denied Labour was suffering meltdown in the polls.
Speaking on BBC television, Mr Miliband, an ally of the Prime Minister, said Mr Brown was still the right man to lead the country and the party into the next election.
"At the election we won't be discussing MPs' expenses, I hope not, because I hope we'll have reformed the system. We will be discussing the substantive issues that this country faces around the economy, around education, around Europe," he said.
Two Labour parliamentarians have threatened to take legal action over the publication of the expense details which they said were wholly inaccurate, but the paper plans to publish more details in the coming days.
Members of parliament from all parties will be bracing themselves for criticism when full details of all expense claims going back to 2004 are published in July.
Mr Brown took over from Tony Blair as prime minister two years ago, pledging to build trust in a government that had been undermined by the Iraq war and allegations of political sleaze.