LABOUR has dipped below 30 per cent in the polls for the first time since Ed Miliband became leader of the party, according to the latest study conducted for Tory peer Lord Ashcroft.

The party is on 29 per cent, while Ukip has dropped two points to 16 per cent. The Conservatives are down one point on 30 per cent, according to the polling.

Reports have claimed that Labour is focusing on a "35 per cent strategy" aimed at getting the party just over the line at the general election - a claim senior figures have denied. But the Ashcroft polling shows a "slow but unmistakable decline" in Labour support, according to the peer.

It is the first major poll to put the party below 30 points since Mr Miliband took the helm in September 2010.

Lord Ashcroft wrote: "Though these changes and the Tory lead are within the margin of error, the longer term story shows that while the Conservatives remain in the centre of their 30 per cent zone, Labour are continuing their slow but unmistakeable decline in the Ashcroft national poll, from highs of 36 per cent in July and 35 per cent in early September.

"This is the first week in which Labour have dropped below 30 per cent in my poll, and the second time the two leading parties have scored less than 60 between them."

Asked whether they expected to be better off under the Tories or Labour, most voters, 57 per cent, said it would make no difference. More than 1,000 adults were questioned for the poll.