ComRes, Dec 12: Con 41, Lab 24, LD 21

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

UPDATE: A separate poll for the Sunday Times has the gap at 9 points, with Labour up four.

In a new poll for tomorrow’s Independent on Sunday, the Tory lead has increased back to 17%. Compared to last week’s Independent poll, also conducted by ComRes, the Conservatives are up four points to 41% and Labour are languishing on 24%, with the Lib Dems just three points behind on 21%.

Translated broadly to a general election, these numbers would deliver the Tories with a 96 seat majority; they would win 373 seats to Labour’s 192.

After a string of positive polling numbers for Labour, tomorrow’s poll may be a reaction to the measures announced in Wednesday’s Pre-Budget Report, or to the party’s new focus on drawing divisions with the opposition along class lines: 70% of respondents disagreed with the notion “that David Cameron went to Eton makes it harder for him to be a good prime minister for the whole country.”

However, in an otherwise humbling set of numbers, there are one or two indicators that are more positive for Labour. For example, 66% agreed that the Government’s plans for heavier taxes on people with high incomes are fair.

Meanwhile, only 34% of respondents agreed that the Tories have the “right ideas about how to get Britain out of recession” (down from 38% in April). 46% disagree with that statement outright.