UK's Labour slip further behind Conservatives in poll - Opinium

LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party has slipped slightly further behind the ruling Conservatives ahead of next month's general election, according to an opinion poll to be published in Sunday's Observer newspaper.

The poll showed support for the Conservatives steady at 36 percent, while support for Labour dropped by 2 percentage points since the last poll a week ago to 32 percent, market research company Opinium said on Saturday (Shenzhen: 002291.SZ - news) .

With less than three weeks to go before the May 7 election, most opinion polls have shown voters fairly evenly split between Britain's two main political parties, but neither are likely to win enough seats to hold a clear parliamentary majority.

Support for the anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) rose by 2 percentage points to 13 percent, while support for the Conservatives' Liberal Democrat coalition partners edged one percentage point higher to 8 percent.

Opinium said it surveyed 1,995 British adults on April 16 and April 17, a period which included a high-profile televised debate between opposition party leaders including Labour leader Ed Miliband. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Gareth Jones)