More than half of British voters believe the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government will collapse before 2015, when the next election is due, according to an opinion poll.
The government has endured a difficult year, faced with a shrinking economy and a surge in disagreements between the two parties.
In the online ICM poll for the Guardian newspaper, 54 per cent of voters think the coalition will not survive into 2015. About one in 10 predict a split this year and only 16 per cent expect the two to govern until May 2015.
The Conservatives, with 305 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, outweigh the Lib Dems with 57 seats, though both lost ground to Labour in mid-term local elections.