Cameron's fightback shifts to the public services

He will use two major policy statements to open a new front in the 'fightback' he launched last week.

The Tory leader hopes the initiatives will bolster his standing and dent the lead built up by Labour since Gordon Brown came to power.

His aides brushed aside yet another setback in the polls, showing the Prime Minister pulling further ahead.

Behind the scenes Mr Cameron has put the party on a war footing and cleared the decks in anticipation of a possible snap poll in October.

Tomorrow he is expected to map out Tory plans for overhauling the education system to make it more responsive to the needs of parents and demands for better discipline in classrooms.

A separate report on environmental measures will be used to reinforce a Tory pledge to put up 'green taxes' to help channel extra cash to families.

Tory HQ was meanwhile playing down the impact of a survey published yesterday that suggested Mr Cameron is heading for defeat at the next general election.

The YouGov poll showed Labour with a commanding eight point lead over the Tories, by 41 per cent to 33 per cent. The Liberal Democrats are on 14 per cent to 20 per cent compared with 37 and 19 respectively a month ago. Sir Menzies Campbell remains stuck at 6 per cent.

Senior Tories said they would not be swayed by the findings, and pointed out that research for the poll had been carried out before Mr Cameron's tough statements on crime and immigration in the past week.

They say Mr Cameron has hit a nerve with sections of the public by seizing on rising violent crime as evidence of social

It also put Gordon Brown far ahead of Mr Cameron in the approval stakes, at 44 per cent breakdown in Britain.

His description of 'Anarchy UK' has created a clear dividing line between the Tories and Gordon Brown, who has so far refused to endorse claims that crime is a key issue for voters.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron said: "We have got the right agenda and we are going to continue putting our case.

"We have been on the front foot for the past three weeks and that will continue next week."

Tory high command is privately relieved that the Commons recess means few MPs are around to make trouble on the back of the poll.

Neither party is certain about the current trends in politics and they are studying voter surveys with extra care to work out what the electorate-is making of Mr Brown and Mr Cameron barely two months since the handover from Tony Blair.

Some MPs believe Mr Brown is preparing an 'autumn surprise' that could see him call a general election at the end of September if the polls continue to give him a commanding lead.

But senior strategists in both parties say an autumn contest is unlikely because the scale of Labour's lead is unclear and Mr Brown may be reluctant to risk his premiership so soon.

One Shadow Cabinet member said: "We won't really know where we are for another two months. We will continue taking the battle to Gordon Brown and you can expect to see the gap narrow."