LONDON (REUTERS) - British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has a 15 point lead over the opposition Labour party, down sharply from three weeks ago but still indicating a hefty majority for her, an Ipsos MORI poll showed on Thursday (May 18).

The Conservatives' share of voters was steady at 49 per cent, but Labour's increased by 8 points from three weeks ago to 34 per cent, according to the poll commissioned by the London Evening Standard newspaper.

Support for the Liberal Democrats halved to 7 per cent, while the UK Independence Party's share ebbed to just 2 per cent.

"The focus on (Labour's) manifesto may have helped them this week, but on many fundamentals such as leadership the public still puts them a long way behind the Conservatives," said Gideon Skinner, head of political polling at Ipsos MORI.