The Conservatives have moved into their strongest poll position for almost five years . As David Cameron prepares to go to Buckingham Palace to mark the formal start of the general election campaign , ending the long phoney war between the political parties , an exclusive ComRes poll for the Daily Mail and ITV News shows the Tories have opened up a four-point lead over Labour . Tory jitters about the party 's campaign will be eased by the survey , which suggests Labour has slipped back since last week 's bruising TV encounter between the two main party leaders and interviewer Jeremy Paxman . Scroll down for video . The poll puts the Conservatives up one point on last week with 36 per cent - the first time since February 2012 that they have recorded the same share of the vote they got at the last election - ahead of Labour on 32 per cent , down three points . It is their best vote share since George Osborne 's so-called 'omnishambles ' Budget , which included taxes on hot pasties and caravans , which prompted a Tory slump . The party has to reach even further back - to September 2010 - for the last time it enjoyed a four-point lead with ComRes . Ukip is on 12 per cent , well down on last year 's peak of 19 per cent , with the Liberal Democrats showing signs of a modest recovery , on nine per cent . The Greens have slipped back to five per cent . The poll is the mirror image of a YouGov survey over the weekend , which put Labour on 36 per cent and the Tories on 32 per cent . An Opinium poll , meanwhile , yesterday put the Tories ahead , on 34 per cent to Labour 's 33 per cent . Tbe ComRes poll finds Mr Cameron has extended his lead over Mr Miliband over which of them is best suited to lead the country . An exclusive ComRes poll for the Daily Mail and ITV news puts David Cameron and the Conservatives up one point on last week with 36 per cent , while Ed Miliband 's Labour is on 32 per cent , down three points . The survey comes after last week 's bruising TV encounter between the two main party leaders and interviewer Jeremy Paxman ( pictured ) Following Thursday ’ s television grilling by Mr Paxman , half of all adults in Britain think Mr Cameron would make a better Prime Minister -- 50 per cent -- compared to three in ten -- 29 per cent -- who back Mr Miliband . This represents a fall of four points for the Labour leader on the last ComRes poll , conducted last week before the TV clash . Incredibly , 18 per cent of Labour voters think that Mr Cameron would make a better Prime Minister than Mr Miliband , suggesting even some of his party 's own supporters are unconvinced . This compares to just one per cent of Conservative voters who think that Mr Miliband would be the better Prime Minister . With a seven-way television debate , featuring Mr Cameron , Mr Miliband and the leaders of the Liberal Democrats , Ukip , the SNP , Plaid Cymru and the Greens looming this Thursday , voters are around twice as likely to associate Mr Cameron than Mr Miliband with being 'good on television ' , by 64 per cent to 31 per cent . Just 29 per cent back Mr Miliband as Prime Minister , which represents a fall of four points for the Labour leader on the last ComRes poll , which was conducted last week before the TV clash . Mr Cameron also has a big lead on which of the two is considered a strong leader , with 60 per cent of voters choosing him versus 33 per cent for Mr Miliband . However , it is not all good news for Mr Cameron : he is significantly more likely to be viewed as arrogant than Mr Miliband , by 52 per cent to 35 per cent . The Labour leader has narrower leads on which of the two is seen as more genuine and understanding of the real world . When given a straight choice between a Labour-led government and a Conservative-led government after the next election , the poll finds voters ' preference is too close to call , with 41 per cent wanting the former and 42 per cent the latter . However , in the event of a hung Parliament , there is a clear preference for the current coalition to continue . Presented with a decision between a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition and a Labour–SNP arrangement , 45 per cent of voters say that they would prefer the Con-Lib option , compared to just 33 per cent who prefer Lab-SNP . Tom Mludzinski , head of political polling at ComRes , said : 'It is too soon to attribute any movement in the polls to the Paxman effect . While this is bound to be a volatile election with both Labour and the Conservatives running each other close , the longer term trends points towards the Conservatives beginning to dig in and strengthen their position . 'Cameron ’ s ratings as a strong leader will serve him well through the coming seven-way debate as the challengers attempt to bring him down . '
Tories are up one point with 36 % , while Labour is down three points to 5 % . It is their best vote share since George Osborne 's 'omnishambles ' Budget . Last time they had four-point lead with ComRes poll was September 2010 . Ukip is on 12 % , Liberal Democrats are on 9 % and the Greens are on 32 % .