Labour ahead by 8 points with ComRes

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Labour are now 8 points ahead of the Tories, according to a ComRes poll for tomorrow’s Independent. The polling firm have Labour on 42%(+3 since December 19th) and the Conservatives on 34%(-3). The Liberal Democrats on 12% (slightly higher than in recent polls) and have increased their vote share by 1%.

This is the largest Labour lead – and the Tories’ lowest share of the vote – in any poll since last May’s general election.

If repeated in a general election, these figures would give Labour an overall majority of 102.

Alongside Labour’s increasing lead, the coalition is losing popularity – just 32% believe Britain is better off with a coalition government rather than a single party with an overall majority (58% disagree).

There’s still plenty of work for Labour to do on economic credibility as only 36% of people believe that Labour would be better at handling the economy. Miliband will also be concerned that only 36% believe he is doing a good job as Labour leader – especially as more people (37%) believe that Nick Clegg has proved a good Deputy PM.

Update: Labour are also ahead in tonight’s other poll (by a more modest 3%). The YouGov daily tracker result is CON 40%, LAB 43%, LDEM 8%. The government approval rating is -20.