Nigel Farage is weirder than Ed Miliband and David Cameron is out of touch, say voters

Nick Clegg also fared badly in a survey about the four leaders

Nigel Farage is seen as weirder than Ed Miliband, even after the bacon sandwich incident, according to a poll of voters in marginal seats.

There were mixed results for the Prime Minister, who was seen as out of touch with ordinary people but also as the most intelligent out of leaders from the four main parties.

A third of people said David Cameron was competent and the most “statesmanlike”, while a quarter thought he had the right policies for Britain’s future.

Mr Miliband was just a few points behind on policy but fared badly on the personal front.

More than 32 per cent of people questioned described the Labour leader as “weird” and more thought he was out of touch, although almost as many thought he was intelligent.

Only one in 10 thought he was the most statesmanlike, while a fifth thought he was competent.

Mr Farage topped the weirdness stakes with 40 per cent of people saying he was strange but the Ukip leader scored badly on competence, policies, trustworthiness, intelligence and seeming statesmanlike.

Not many people likened themselves to the political leaders but Mr Farage topped the chart, with 14 per cent of respondents saying he came across as someone like them.

Nick Clegg showed little sign of recovery from the Liberal Democrats' disastrous local and European election results, scoring as out of touch and being viewed worst for trustworthiness, policy and competency.

ComRes questioned more than 1,000 adults in the 40 most marginal constituencies, where little separated Labour and the Conservatives in the last general election.

A poll showed Labour holds a five-point lead over the Tories, while the Ukip were supported by 17 per cent of voters and the Liberal Democrats languished in fifth place, behind “other”, on 7 per cent.

Andrew Hawkins, the chairman of ComRes, said: “Despite talk of the polls narrowing in favour of the Conservatives, this poll shows that in the seats which really matter Labour remain stubbornly in front.

“To have any prospect of staying in power, David Cameron has to persuade voters that he and his party understand the needs and concerns of ordinary people.”