Twice as many voters want Cameron instead of Brown

Gordon Brown returned from his summer break today to a new poll suggesting voters overwhelmingly prefer David Cameron as Prime Minister.

As Mr Brown got back to work in Downing Street, research by ICM for the Guardian put Labour 15 per cent behind the Tories, on 29 per cent to 44 per cent, with the Lib-Dems on 19 per cent.

If the results were repeated at a general election they would translate into a 100-seat majority for Mr Cameron.

Mr Brown's personal ratings were even worse, with just 21 per cent saying they would rather have him as Prime Minister than the Conservative leader - who was backed by 42 per cent.

Mr Brown, who is set to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics this week, is planning a major political fightback this autumn. It includes speeches to the Trades Union Congress and Labour conferences, followed by a pre-Budget report aimed at easing the downturn pain of average Britons.

Some in No 10 believe a much-anticipated push against Mr Brown will fail to materialise as few ministers are keen to rock the boat while there is a threat of a Cabinet reshuffle. The ministerial changes may be held back from September to October as a result.

The ICM poll found that Cameron was the favoured choice in every age bracket, every social class and every part of Britain except Scotland.

The only silver lining for Mr Brown was his potential leadership rival David Miliband fared no better - trailing Mr Cameron by the same margin of 21 per cent. Voters were also asked to rate the PM against the Foreign Secretary, and viewed Mr Brown as more trustworthy, more competent, and more willing to take a stand on difficult issues.

But the poll failed to ask the more traditional leadership question of how people would vote for each party if there was a different leader. Mr Miliband's supporters will take encouragement from the fact that he was perceivedas "more on my wavelength" by respondents, and as having wider appeal by a margin of 38 per cent to 8 per cent.

Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg will be pleased to see his party on 19 per cent but came under party fire today after it emerged he was targeting Labour rather than Tory seats at the next election.

Mr Clegg has ordered an all-out attack on Labour aimed at capturing up to 50 seats. He wants to target seats in Liverpool, Sheffield and Edinburgh in a bid to offset the expected loss of Lib-Dem seats to the Conservatives in the south.

But Truro MP Matthew Taylor said: "Where we have made real gains against the Conservative party in the last 15 years we need to build and hold on."