London, Sep 28 (IANS): In a first since 2019 just before former UK Prime Minister Theresa May's exit from Downing Street, the UK's main opposition Labour Party overtook the ruling Conservatives in a new opinion poll.

The poll conducted by Opinium for The Observer newspaper and issued on Sunday put Labour on 42 per cent with the Conservatives on 39 per cent, reports the Metro newspaper.

According to the poll, 55 per cent of the voters believe that Labour leader Keir Starmer was ready to become Prime Minister and 40 per cent were of the opinion that the opposition party was ready to form the next government.

Meanwhile, only 30 per cent backed the incumbent Boris Johnson government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, down from the 65 per cent who were in favour during the early stages of the health crisis.

The Prime Minister has come under increasing pressure to control the spread of the virus, which has so far infected 437,516 people so far in the UK, while the death toll stood at 42,077.

Wales has put three more counties into lockdown amid a surge of infections, while thousands of students have been forced to self-isolate in their university halls just weeks after starting the new term.