London, Jul 8 (IANS): Around one-third members of the Conservative Party have quit since British Prime Minister David Cameron became party leader. The party membership now stands at 177,000 - down 81,000 from the 258,000 Cameron inherited in 2005.

Over the same period, the membership of the Labour Party fell by only 4,000 to the current 194,000, said the Daily Mail citing a report from the House of Commons library. It is the first time official figures from each party have shown Labour in front.

The Liberal Democrats, led by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, are trailing at 65,000, down 8,000 from 2005.

Membership of smaller parties such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP), the Greens, the British National Party (BNP) and the Scottish National Party has risen since 2005.

Suggesting that people like to get involved, just in a non-political way, the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and similar organisations have become more popular.

The National Trust has 3.8 million supporters, up from about 300,000 in 1971.