David Cameron has suffered a sharp fall in public approval, mirroring the slide in popularity experienced by his predecessors as Conservative leader, according to a new poll.

Mr Cameron's net approval rating in the Ipsos Mori survey for the Financial Times slumped to minus-two this month, from a high of plus-14 in January, shortly after his election as leader.

And the poll also shows the Tories falling back into second place in terms of voting intentions, after 10 months in which they have led Labour by up to six or seven points.

The poll showed the Tories lagging two points behind Labour among the 56 per cent of voters who said they were certain to turn out to cast their ballot in the next election, with Mr Cameron's party on 35 per cent against 37 per cent for Tony Blair's party.

Mr Cameron's precipitous decline in personal ratings echoes the slump in popularity recorded by William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard in the year after they became leader - although each of them started from a significantly lower point.

The Financial Times reported that the poll indicated disapproval was particularly marked among women voters. And it said many of those who initially declared themselves undecided about the Tory leader were now expressing dissatisfaction with his performance.

Tory strategists may be particularly concerned as the poll was taken just a week after the Conservatives' conference in Bournemouth, which is usually expected to produce a "bounce" in popularity for the party.

Ipsos Mori interviewed 2,014 adults between October 12 and 16. Voting intention figures were based on the 1,113 people who said they were absolutely certain to vote in the next election.

Taken from AOL