Tories take 4-point lead ... but one in 5 is still undecided

THE Conservatives have opened up a four-point lead over Labour – but millions of voters have still not decided who they will vote for, a poll reveals.

In the tightest election race since 1992, one in five of those who plan to vote have not yet made up their minds over which party to back.

That suggests more than three million are undecided.

The exclusive poll by ComRes for the Daily Mail and ITV News shows that, since their last poll two weeks ago, David Cameron’s party has moved ahead to 36 per cent of the vote as Labour slipped to 32 per cent. The Tories’ vote share is their highest since March 2012. Ukip and the Liberal Democrats have also both slipped,

‘Similar numbers are considering both parties’

to 10 per cent and 8 per cent respectively, while the Greens are on 5 per cent.

But crucially, the poll suggests that, with less than a fortnight to go, there is all to play for in the race to win over those who are undecided.

The main parties were evenly split when voters were asked who they would consider backing on May 7, with 48 per cent saying Labour and 47 per cent Conservatives. Two thirds (66 per cent) said they would never vote for Ukip.

The poll also confirms the Lib Dems’ catastrophic loss of support. Two in five (41 per cent) of those who voted for the party in 2010 said they would not consider doing so this year. But 25 per cent of both Conservative and Labour voters said they would consider voting Lib Dem, suggesting that the party could still win over new supporters.

Men were more inclined to consider voting for the Tories than women – 50 per cent compared to 43 per cent. The reverse was true for the Lib Dems – 25 per cent of men against 31 per cent of women. The genders were equally likely to consider voting Labour, on 48 per cent each. Voters seemed relaxed about the rise of smaller parties; some 75 per cent said it is good to have parties other than the main two and 57 per cent did not agree that a hung Parliament gives minor parties too much power.

ComRes said the poll showed the Tories had ‘reinforced their lead’, with Labour yet to be ahead in any telephone survey by the pollster this year. But the Tories are still ‘unsure of winning a majority of seats in the Commons’, they added.

Tom Mludzinski, ComRes’s head of political polling, said: ‘Our latest poll continues the trend we’ve seen all year, with the Conservatives just, but consistently, ahead of Labour. Despite this lead, both parties have very similar proportions of the electorate willing to consider voting for them.’ A more detailed ComRes analysis of undecided voters, involving 1,500 people, found they think the Tories would be better than Labour at promoting economic growth, by a margin of 42 per cent to 15 per cent.

And 42 per cent said Mr Cameron is strong, compared to only 11 per cent who thought the same of Mr Miliband.

To the alarm of Labour strategists, another poll also suggested the party’s support is slipping and gave the Tories another fourpoint lead.

The Survation poll for the Mirror put the Conservatives up two points from last week to 33 per cent of the vote, with Labour down four on 29 per cent, Ukip on 18 per cent and the Lib Dems on 10 per cent.