Tories doing worse than under IDS

The Tories suffered a fresh setback today as a poll showed they were doing worse under Michael Howard than under Iain Duncan Smith.

The poll puts Labour on 38 points with the Tories eight points behind at 30 per cent.

It is the party's worse performance since May last year when Mr Duncan Smith was struggling to save his leadership.

The findings show the Conservatives are failing to make headway despite a successful party conference and a raft of policy initiatives. Although Mr Howard's leadership is not at risk, the Guardian/ICM poll reveals his popularity has continued to slide.

Only 33 per cent of voters think he is doing a good job - compared with 41 per cent who rate Tony Blair's performance as leader.

In a further blow, the majority of Tories believe the party is destined to lose the next election.

Nevertheless, 58 per cent of Conservative activists believe Mr Howard should stay on as leader.