Labor reduced majority possible hung parliament

LABOR will lose at least seven seats, but is likely to hold power following Saturday's Victorian election, a new poll suggests.

The poll, conducted by JWS Research and published on the Herald Sun website, says Labor is likely to lose the Melbourne seats of Mount Waverley, Mitcham, Forest Hill, Mordialloc and Burwood to the Liberals, along with the Geelong seat of South Barwon.

The Greens are likely to win the inner suburban seat of Brunswick, and have an even chance with Labor of winning the seats of Melbourne and Richmond, held by cabinet ministers Bronwyn Pike and Richard Wynne respectively.

Labor and Liberal are lineball in the inner southeastern seat of Prahran, while the Nationals are expected to pick up East Gippsland from independent MP Craig Ingram, who has held the seat since 1999, the poll says.

But Labor is likely to hold crucial seats including Gembrook, Bentleigh and Frankston, in Melbourne's southeast, and the regional seats of Bendigo East, Ballarat East, Ballarat West and Ripon.

"If these results hold up at Saturday's election, it may still allow Labor to form majority government and for John Brumby to be elected in his own right as premier," JWS Research managing director John Scales told the Herald Sun.

"But on this polling Labor's lead has been reduced to such a small number of seats that Ted Baillieu and the Liberals could yet snatch an unlikely victory or the Greens could once again be the king-makers."

The poll says Premier John Brumby leads Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu as preferred premier by 36 per cent to 32 per cent.