Tories take 18 point poll lead

A new poll has given the Conservatives an 18-point lead over Labour, a 21-year record.

The YouGov survey for the Telegraph shows the Tories up one point since March on 44 per cent, with Labour down three points to 26 per cent.

Support for the Liberal Democrats remains steady at 17 per cent.

The Conservative lead is the highest in a poll since 1987, and would give the party a significant majority were the results repeated in a general election.

The survey was conducted between April 21 and 23, before the government offered concessions on the scrapping of the 10p income tax rate to defuse a potential Labour rebellion.

Asked how well they thought the prime minister and his colleagues had handled the abolishing of the 10p rate, 72 per cent said either 'fairly badly' or 'very badly'.

Only eight per cent said it had been handled 'fairly well' or 'very well'.

Approval of the government's record is at 17 per cent, with 68 per cent saying they disapprove.

And some 71 per cent of respondents said Brown was not in touch with their concerns, while 18 per cent thought he was.

On the economy, 24 per cent said they thought Labour was most likely to run it well.

The Conservatives were chosen by 36 per cent of people, while 40 per cent picked 'neither' or 'don't know'.