CONSERVATIVES 42% (+1)
LABOUR 35% (nc)
LIB DEMS 14% (-1)

Will this bring closure on the election speculation?

The tip we had earlier was correct – the latest YouGov poll for the Daily Telegraph has the Tories up again to 42% with Labour unchanged on the weekend survey which had them at 35%.

Although the changes are well within the margin of error the trend is there. At the end of November YouGov had the Tories on just 40% only four points ahead of Labour.

This suggests that the big move to Labour since October has paused for the time being and must surely scotch all thought of a February election.

There’s little doubt that these number will provide a bit of cheer for Cameron and his team after watching the dramatic poll moves of the past couple of months.

The one remaining poll of 2008 should be from ComRes for the Independent. The firm’s last two surveys have shown gaps of just one point.

Mike Smithson