Julia Gillard vows not to 'flinch' over recent poll numbers
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says she has no plans to step aside for a new leader despite another opinion poll predicting electoral annihilation for the Labor Party.
Despite two polls out on Monday showing a small jump in support for Labor, the numbers still highlighted the significant challenge facing the government.
The Nielsen poll, published by Fairfax, had Labor trailing the Coalition 56-44% on a two-party-preferred basis - a one-point jump since the last poll.
While Labor's primary vote also received a two-point bump to 31%, it cannot win an election with such a low number.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott also increased his lead over Ms Gillard as preferred prime minister, from 49-45% a month ago to 49-43% in Monday's poll.
Nielsen also revealed Kevin Rudd was preferred by 62% of respondents to lead Labor, compared to 31% for the PM.
Despite the less than flattering figures, Ms Gillard told Fairfax she would not "flinch" or be distracted by the constant leadership speculation.
Meanwhile, in the weekly Essential poll Labor's primary and 2PP support both went up by one-point.
Labor trails the Coalition 47-35% in terms of primary support and 54-46% 2PP.
