British PM May's Conservatives up 6 pct points on 49 pct, matching Thatcher's 1983 lead - Ipsos MORI

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has increased its lead over the opposition Labour Party and now has 49 percent support ahead of a June 8 election, a lead equivalent to that held by Margaret Thatcher in 1983, Ipsos MORI said.

The telephone poll of 1,004 adults conducted April 21-25 put May's party up 6 percentage points on 49 percent, Labour down 4 percentage points on 26, the Liberal Democrats unchanged on 13 percent and the United Kingdom Independence Party down 2 percentage points on 4 percent.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said May's lead matched the biggest lead ever recorded for the Conservatives in an election campaign back in 1983. In that election, Thatcher won a majority of 144 seats.

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