Chris Martin for PM

Music

09:30 25 April 2005

Young voters want Coldplay's Chris Martin as Prime Minister.

The 'Yellow' singer topped a survey, conducted for music magazine NME, to find out the opinions of 18 to 24-year-olds on the forthcoming General Election.

Martin, who is a tireless campaigner for Oxfam's Make Poverty History campaign, narrowly beat Radiohead singer Thom Yorke and former Smiths frontman Morrissey as favourite to lead the country.

The Populus poll, which quizzed 744 young people, also asked individuals to compare each party leader to a band.

Tory leader Michael Howard was compared to glam-rockers The Darkness, Tony Blair was likened to Oasis, while Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, a self-confessed David Bowie fanatic, was paired with Brit award winners Keane.

Blair famously met Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher after coming to power in 1997 and the guitarist is currently the only rock star to openly endorse the Labour party in this election campaign.

The poll also asked participants to give the issues they were most concerned with in the run up to polling day on May 5.

37 per cent said they would support the Liberal Democrats in the forthcoming election, 26 per cent said they would be backing Labour while only 17 per cent would vote for the Conservatives.

(c) BANG Media International