Recent Guardian/ICM opinion poll has put the Tories four points ahead of Labour, though the poll came after the week that saw them under pressure over wealthy donors and HSBC revelations.
The Tories found themselves six points up since last month – their strongest showing in the Guardian’s ICM poll since May 2012 and only one point down on their 2010 general election result. Labour’s support declined by one point to 32%. The Liberal Democrats were also down a point, on 10%.
At the same time, the smaller parties registered bigger losses. Ukip lost two, to just 9%, as did the Greens, who ended up on 7%, after their record showing last month.
In fact, the Tories' support appears to be stronger, as it comes after a week during which the Conservatives were pressured over their connections with wealthy donors, with Cameron’s 2011 move to appoint HSBC boss Stephen Green drawing fire in parliament.
