If there was an election tomorrow a new poll suggests that it would be a tight race between the two parties as the Opposition party has gained more support in the last several months.

The number of people questioned in this month's Research Innovations Poll who said they would vote the PLP back in outweighed the number of people who would for the UBP ? but not by much. There is only a 1.7 percent difference between the two parties, with 33.5 percent of people voting for the current Government and 31.8 percent voting for the Opposition.

Meanwhile, 8.8 percent of people said they would refrain from voting and 21 percent refused to answer the question. The last time the public was polled the difference between the two parties was five percent, with the PLP taking the election.

Startlingly, 20 percent of people polled who are under the age of 35 said they would not vote in the next election. While 23.3 percent of people in the same age bracket said they would vote for the current Government and 26.7 percent said they would vote in the Opposition.

Over half, 54.1 percent, of blacks questioned said they would vote for the PLP while 17 percent said they would cast their ballot for the UBP. Only 1.8 percent of white people polled said they would vote for PLP while 63.4 percent said they would vote for the UBP. Nearly a third of whites polled refused to answer the question.

In terms of economic classes 31.3 percent of those who earn less than $50,000 were more likely to refrain from voting, 27.5 percent would vote in the Opposition, and 23.8 percent would back the PLP. People whose household income is between $50,000 and $100,000 were more likely to vote for the PLP, 40 percent, than the UBP, 35.3 percent. However 22 percent or people polled in this income refused to answer the question.

Leader of the Opposition, Wayne Furbert, is currently off the Island but Deputy Opposition Leader Michael Dunkley said he was not surprised by the numbers.

?We feel, and the numbers clearly show, that people are now taking a fierce look at the UBP as the next government,? he said. ?There has been a lot of apathy lately as the public have seen the Government fail in housing, mismanage the public purse and not be transparent.

?But the real meat lies in the 21 percent of people who did not give their preference. That is where the rubber meets the road on election day because clearly there is a large portion of the electorate who are not telling anyone of what they will do. So while both parties are neck in neck those undecided will make the decision.?

While the Government?s popularity, which was 34.9 percent in May, has fallen so has the Premier?s. In March Alex Scott?s popularity was the highest it has been in 2006 with 51.6 percent of people expressing pleasure with the country?s leader. Now the number is down to 46.7 percent. Of those polled 36.5 percent said they were not pleased with Alex Scott, nearly two thirds of whom are white. Among the black community Mr. Scott has fewer detractors with only 18.5 percent expressing displeasure with the Premier.

Men appear to like Mr. Scott?s style of leadership more than women with 49.4 percent expressing pleasure and 41.9 percent of women polled expressing the same opinion. When it comes to household income more people, 56.6 percent, whose household income is between $50,000 and $100,000 said they liked Mr. Scott than in any other income bracket. The greatest percentage of people who expressed displeasure with Mr. Scott live off more than $100,000.

Half of the people under the age of 35 who were polled said they saw Mr. Scott in a favourable light, while 20.4 percent of under 35-year-olds who were questioned said they were not sure. Mr. Scott scored best among people between the age of 36 and 54 with 48.5 percent of them saying they liked him. Thirty-seven percent said they did not and 14 percent of people polled who were aged 36-54 said they were not sure. Seniors were split evenly on whether they liked him or not with both percentages being 41.3 percent.

Despite the fact that 46.7 percent of people polled said they liked Mr. Scott only 38.8 percent of those asked said they thought he was doing a good job. Almost half of the people polled, 49.4 percent, said they did not approve of the way he was handling his job as leader of the country and 11.9 percent said they were not sure what they thought.

Meanwhile the Opposition Leader, Wayne Furbert has seen his popularity surge since he took over the party. The first time the public was polled about Mr. Furbert in March, only 28.7 percent of people expressed pleasure with him as a leader. In July when asked the same question 41 percent of people said they saw him in a favourable light

However, the younger section of the electorate ? those under the age of 35 ? either do not see Mr. Furbert favourably, 38 percent, or were not sure about him, also 38 percent. Among the elderly population 48 percent have a favourable opinion of Mr. Furbert while 14.3 percent do not.

Mr. Furbert seems to have gained favour in both the black and white communities with 42.6 percent of blacks stating they saw him in a favourable light and 43.6 percent expressing the same sentiment. The number of blacks and whites not happy with Mr. Furbert is not as disproportionate as with Mr. Scott. Of those polled 30.1 percent of blacks expressing displeasure with Mr. Furbert and 21.1 percent of whites expressing the same opinion.

Half of the people polled who live on less than $50,000 a year did not see Mr. Furbert in a favourable light while 54 percent of people whose household income is between $50,000 and $100,000 saw him in a favourable light.

Mr. Dunkley was again not surprised by the latest poll numbers.

?His poll numbers will continue to rise as people get to see what type of leader he is,? he said. ?People are now getting to know him and his beliefs and the way he works.

?He has always had a prominent position in the party but people tend to focus on the leader. Now people are getting the chance to focus on him and we will continue to see his approval rating rise.?was not able to get a hold of the Premier last night to get his views on the latest poll, which questioned 405 people.