Tories stretch lead over Labour

Gordon Brown is facing a gloomy week ahead if a poll on Thursday's crucial by-election pans out.

Research by ICM found that 45 per cent of Crewe and Nantwich constituents are planning to vote Conservative, compared with 37 per cent backing Labour.

If those figures come to fruition, the result would destroy Labour's 7,000 majority and deliver David Cameron a new MP by a margin of more than 1,000.

And there is no comfort for the Prime Minister at a national level.

A YouGov poll has put the Tories on 45 per cent to Labour's 25 per cent, with the Lib Dems on 18 per cent - up two points since last month.

Around four in five people thought the PM was performing badly, with 59 per cent insisting he should step down before the next General Election.

The survey of constituents in Crewe and Nantwich suggested that this week's "mini-Budget", which handed a £2.7 billion windfall to basic rate taxpayers, had backfired.

Nearly half said the package - designed to defuse anger over the abolition of the 10p band - was the right thing to do.

But 59 per cent also viewed the move as a cynical pre-election bribe, and 24 per cent claimed it would make them less likely to support Labour.

Just under two-thirds were convinced that the Government would have a better chance of winning a General Election without Mr Brown in charge.

Gwyneth Dunwoody, who died last month, held Crewe and Nantwich by 7,078 votes at the 2005 General Election. Her daughter, Tamsin, a former Welsh Assembly member, is fighting to keep the seat for Labour.

The Tory candidate is barrister Edward Timpson, part of the family which founded the Timpson shoe chain.

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