The scale of the challenge facing David Cameron as he began a political fightback has been laid bare by a new Guardian/ICM poll showing Labour has leapt into an eight-point lead.
In the wake of a series of government mishaps since the budget, the poll showed the Conservatives down six points in a month from 39% to 33% while Labour had risen from 36% to 41%, giving the party its best poll lead for five years. The slump overturned what had appeared to be a stable Tory three-point lead ahead of the budget. The Lib Dems remain on 15%.
The Conservative slide is the biggest seen in the monthly Guardian/ICM series since the autumn of 2008, when the onset of the credit crunch briefly produced very volatile political conditions.
The sudden Tory collapse also appeared to be tarnishing Boris Johnson's chances of being elected as London mayor, with a separate YouGov poll showing Johnson with a two-point lead, down from his previous steady six-point advantage over Ken Livingstone. » | Tom Clark and Patrick Wintour | Tuesday, April 24, 2012
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