44% of voters want Cameron to lead the country and just 22% want Brown

A Populus poll for The Times suggests that the Conservatives are still on course for victory over Labour but there is some erosion of the party's opinion poll position.  None of the five leading pollsters have the Tories above 40% at the moment.

Mr Cameron enjoys a huge lead over Brown when it comes to the best placed person to lead the country, however.  44% of the public choose David Cameron and just 22% choose Gordon Brown.

Cameron-Osborne (39%) are also more trusted to manage the economy than Brown-Darling (27%).

Unlike the ComRes poll published earlier this week, Populus cannot find an advantage for Labour in replacing Brown with Alan Johnson.

The only serious caution for David Cameron comes with a question that forces voters to choose between Labour or the Conservatives: "44 per cent would still prefer a Labour government and 42 per cent a Conservative one. This is despite 72 per cent dissatisfaction with Labour."

Tim Montgomerie