Ukip sees support drop to single figures in latest poll

Nigel Farage's party are down seven points this month

Support for Ukip has plummeted sharply since their victory in the European elections according to the results of a new poll, pushing the Conservatives back into the lead.

Nigel Farage’s party stormed to the top of the European elections with 27.5 per cent of the vote and support surged for other eurosceptic parties.

But a new poll by The Guardian/ ICM saw support for Ukip drop to just nine per cent, a steep drop from 16 per cent in June. The Conservatives meanwhile gained three points, climbing to 34 per cent, while labour gained one at 33 per cent. The Lib Dems also saw a slight increase of 2 per cent, raising their total points to 12 per cent.

ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,000 adults by phone for the survey in July, the results of which come ten months ahead of the 2015 election.

Martin Boon, director at ICM research, said: "We used to talk about parties getting themselves through the 'magic' 40 per cent threshold before they would be in serious contention to win, but less than a year before a general election, both the big parties are currently struggling to get themselves into the middle 30s, which, of course, only the Tories managed in 2010."

The figures were released as David Cameron announced a major cabinet reshuffle that saw the number of women in cabinet rise from three to five, with Nicky Morgan announced as the new Education Secretary in place of Michael Gove.

Esther McVey will remain as Minister for Employment and Disabilities but will also attend Cabinet meetings. All three were elected for Parliament for the first time in 2010 and will become key figures in next year’s Tory general election campaign.