Opposition gains in British election

LONDON, April 30 

Three opinion polls showed a rise in support for Britain’s opposition Labour Party, although Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives maintained a commanding lead ahead of a June 8 election expected to define the terms of the country’s EU exit.

The polls published late on Saturday showed May’s Conservatives remained between 11 and 17 points ahead of Labour - still enough to deliver a clear victory as she seeks a mandate for her plan to implement the result of last year’s Brexit referendum by quitting the European Union’s single market.

However, the polls showed the gap had closed from leads of up to 25 points reported last weekend.

One poll by YouGov showed the Conservative lead over the Labour had fallen to 13 points, compared to the 23 points that the same polling firm found last week.

The YouGov poll for the Sunday Times found that 44 per cent were set to back the Conservatives, down from 48 per cent last weekend. Support for Labour climbed to 31 per cent from 25 per cent.

“It looks as if some 2015 Labour voters who were saying ‘don’t know’ a week ago are now saying Labour,” wrote YouGov Research Director Anthony Wells for ukpollingreport.co.uk.

Speaking in television interviews on Sunday Prime Minister May sought to portray her party as the stable option capable of delivering a good Brexit deal, but noted that EU leaders’ attitudes showed there would be difficult talks ahead. — Reuters

May braces for tough Brexit negotiations 

• British Prime Minister Theresa May expects divorce talks with the European Union to be difficult, she said on Sunday in response to the tough stance taken by EU leaders over the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. EU leaders endorsed stiff divorce terms for Britain at a Brussels summit on Saturday. “What this shows, and what some of the other comments we’ve seen coming from European leaders shows, is that there are going to be times when these negotiations are going to be tough,” May told the BBC.