The latest poll conducted by ComRes for ITV News reveals that, with less than 100 days to go until the election, the British public remain more likely to prefer David Cameron continuing on as Prime Minister (55%) than Ed Miliband assuming the role in May (45%), although they remain split about which party they would prefer in power.
The NHS (50%) and immigration (49%) remain the issues most important to the public. Labour (32%) is the party most trusted on the NHS, while UKIP (33%) is the party most trusted to control immigration, although the proportion trusting them on the issue has fallen by four percentage points since December, while the proportion trusting the Conservatives has increased by five points to 21%.
The Conservatives are also up eight percentage points on being the party most trusted to keep down the cost of everyday items. This puts them on 25%, just behind Labour (28%), although the issue as a whole falls in importance among the British public to its lowest level since the News Index started tracking the salience of election issues in July 2014.
Meanwhile, on the TV leaders' debates, two in five Britons (39%) and half of 18-24 year olds (51%), say that televised debates between the leaders will be important in helping them decide who to vote for.
Half of Britons (49%) say that the inclusion of seven parties will make for a more interesting debate and half of Britons (47%) think that it is right that parties from Scotland and Wales are in the debates. People from England are more likely to agree (42%) than disagree (31%) that it is right for Scottish and Welsh parties to be included.
Nearly two thirds of the British public (64%) continue to think TV debates between the leaders of the political parties should go ahead even if David Cameron does not take part.
Katharine Peacock, Managing Director, ComRes said: "With a hundred days to go the General Election is absolutely wide open. David Cameron's strong personal ratings are helping his party stay in the race while Labour's once comfortable lead has disappeared. Voters are now seriously considering their options and we're beginning to see the defining electoral issues come to the fore."
