Voters 'expecting a hung Parliament'

More voters are now expecting a hung Parliament than think the Conservatives will win an overall majority in the General Election on May 6, according to a new poll.

The Populus survey for The Times put the Tories on 39 per cent (down one point on a similar poll two months ago), Labour on 32 per cent (up two) and Liberal Democrats on 21 per cent (up one).

The poll, taken entirely after Gordon Brown announced the election date on Tuesday, was broadly in line with other recent surveys, which suggest that the Tory advantage over Labour has improved slightly over the last few weeks but remains below the level at which David Cameron could be assured of an overall majority.

According to The Times, today's poll would leave the Tories with 30 more MPs than Labour but 25 seats short of a clear majority in the Commons.

For the first time, more people said they were expecting a hung Parliament - 39 per cent, compared to 33 per cent two months ago and 19 per cent last year.

Day three of election campaigning is now under way as the party leaders travel the length and breadth of the country, trying to win voters round.