Britons of all political persuasions would cast their ballots overwhelmingly for John Kerry if they had a vote in the November 2 US presidential elections, suggests an opinion poll published on Friday.

The YouGov poll for the Spectator magazine found that 47 percent would vote for Kerry, against 15 percent for President George W. Bush, and four percent for independent Ralph Nader.

Twenty-five percent said they did not know which candidate they would select, while 10 percent said they would not vote at all.

YouGov, which quizzes its respondents over the Internet, then reweights the results to the demographic profile of Britain, conducted its poll on October 15-18, just as Bush and Kerry clashed in the last of their televised debates.

Asked how they would feel if Bush won a second term in the White House, 53 percent replied "unhappy" or "miserable" — compared to 10 percent who anticipated similar feelings if Kerry swept in.

Dislike for Bush cut across party lines, with 45 percent of Conservative supporters saying they would back Kerry — slightly more than the 43 percent of Labourites who favoured the Democratic challenger.

YouGov also asked a sample of 139 members of the British parliament — out of a total 659 MPs — how they would vote.

All 73 Labour and 21 Liberal Democrats picked Kerry, along with 20 Conservatives and three Scottish and Welsh nationalists.

Another 20 Conservatives opted for Bush, while one Tory backed Nader and another opted for a write-in vote for "Michael Mouse".

The Spectator is Britain's best-selling weekly journal of opinion, widely regarded as the house organ of the Conservative establishment.