'Brown bounce' helps Labour's lead

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The YouGov poll echoes the seven-point margin in another survey last weekend and shows Labour maintaining a comfortable advantage over the Tories for the first time since David Cameron became leader in December 2005.

Almost 1,700 people were questioned on Thursday and Friday for the Sunday Times, as voters in Sedgefield and Ealing Southall delivered a by-election rebuff to the Tories, who limped in third in both contests.

The survey put Labour on 40% - up five points on a similar poll a month ago - the Conservatives on 33% (down four) and Liberal Democrats on 15% (up one).

The dramatic turnaround from the previous Sunday Times/YouGov poll, taken before Mr Brown succeeded Tony Blair as Prime Minister, is an indication of the scale of the boost to Labour from the change of leader.

Asked what they thought of Mr Brown's performance so far, 22% said he had exceeded their expectations and only 6% thought he had done worse.

The poll will inevitably fuel speculation about a possible early general election. And it indicated that this would be a popular move among voters.

More than half of those questioned (54%) thought Mr Brown should call an election in the next few months to secure his own mandate to govern, while fewer than a third (32%) said he should not.

Mr Brown led Mr Cameron in voters' assessment of a range of personal attributes, outscoring the Tory leader by 44% to 12% for "sticking to what he believes in", and by 35% to 8% for being strong. Mr Cameron's only significant advantage was on being more charismatic.

Only 13% of those asked thought Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's admission of youthful cannabis use made her unsuitable to be in charge of drugs policy, while 26% thought her experiences made her more knowledgeable about the subject and 54% said it made no difference.