The Conservatives have extended their opinion poll lead over Labour, according to the latest survey.

A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times put the Conservatives on 38 per cent, against 32 per cent for Labour.

The Liberal Democrats were on 16 percentage points.

If Gordon Brown was Labour's leader, the Tory share grows to 41 per cent while Labour falls to 31 and the Lib Dems to 13 per cent.

Some 61 per cent of those quizzed say the chancellor has "raised taxes sneakily" and cannot be trusted.

But there was better news for Brown in an ICM opinion poll for ITV1’s Sunday Edition.

It found that while 30 per cent of voters trusted the Conservatives most to keep mortgage rates down, some 49 per cent backed Labour.

Asked if Gordon Brown has what it takes to be prime minister, 37 per cent agreed and 48 per cent disagreed.