The Conservatives have moved into their strongest poll position for almost five years. As David Cameron prepares to go to Buckingham Palace to mark the formal start of the general election campaign, ending the long phoney war between the political parties, an exclusive ComRes poll for the Daily Mail and ITV News shows the Tories have opened up a four-point lead over Labour. Tory jitters about the party's campaign will be eased by the survey, which suggests Labour has slipped back since last week's bruising TV encounter between the two main party leaders and interviewer Jeremy Paxman. Scroll down for video . The poll puts the Conservatives up one point on last week with 36 per cent - the first time since February 2012 that they have recorded the same share of the vote they got at the last election - ahead of Labour on 32 per cent, down three points. It is their best vote share since George Osborne's so-called 'omnishambles' Budget, which included taxes on hot pasties and caravans, which prompted a Tory slump. The party has to reach even further back - to September 2010 - for the last time it enjoyed a four-point lead with ComRes. Ukip is on 12 per cent, well down on last year's peak of 19 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats showing signs of a modest recovery, on nine per cent. The Greens have slipped back to five per cent. The poll is the mirror image of a YouGov survey over the weekend, which put Labour on 36 per cent and the Tories on 32 per cent. An Opinium poll, meanwhile, yesterday put the Tories ahead, on 34 per cent to Labour's 33 per cent. Tbe ComRes poll finds Mr Cameron has extended his lead over Mr Miliband over which of them is best suited to lead the country . An exclusive ComRes poll for the Daily Mail and ITV news puts David Cameron and the Conservatives up one point on last week with 36 per cent, while Ed Miliband's Labour is on 32 per cent, down three points . The survey comes after last week's bruising TV encounter between the two main party leaders and interviewer Jeremy Paxman (pictured) Following Thursday’s television grilling by Mr Paxman, half of all adults in Britain think Mr Cameron would make a better Prime Minister -- 50 per cent -- compared to three in ten -- 29 per cent -- who back Mr Miliband. This represents a fall of four points for the Labour leader on the last ComRes poll, conducted last week before the TV clash. Incredibly, 18 per cent of Labour voters think that Mr Cameron would make a better Prime Minister than Mr Miliband, suggesting even some of his party's own supporters are unconvinced. This compares to just one per cent of Conservative voters who think that Mr Miliband would be the better Prime Minister. With a seven-way television debate, featuring Mr Cameron, Mr Miliband and the leaders of the Liberal Democrats, Ukip, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens looming this Thursday, voters are around twice as likely to associate Mr Cameron than Mr Miliband with being 'good on television', by 64 per cent to 31 per cent. Just 29 per cent back Mr Miliband as Prime Minister, which represents a fall of four points for the Labour leader on the last ComRes poll, which was conducted last week before the TV clash . Mr Cameron also has a big lead on which of the two is considered a strong leader, with 60 per cent of voters choosing him versus 33 per cent for Mr Miliband. However, it is not all good news for Mr Cameron: he is significantly more likely to be viewed as arrogant than Mr Miliband, by 52 per cent to 35 per cent. The Labour leader has narrower leads on which of the two is seen as more genuine and understanding of the real world. When given a straight choice between a Labour-led government and a Conservative-led government after the next election, the poll finds voters' preference is too close to call, with 41 per cent wanting the former and 42 per cent the latter. However, in the event of a hung Parliament, there is a clear preference for the current coalition to continue. Presented with a decision between a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition and a Labour–SNP arrangement, 45 per cent of voters say that they would prefer the Con-Lib option, compared to just 33 per cent who prefer Lab-SNP. Tom Mludzinski, head of political polling at ComRes, said:'It is too soon to attribute any movement in the polls to the Paxman effect. While this is bound to be a volatile election with both Labour and the Conservatives running each other close, the longer term trends points towards the Conservatives beginning to dig in and strengthen their position. 'Cameron’s ratings as a strong leader will serve him well through the coming seven-way debate as the challengers attempt to bring him down.'
Tories are up one point  with 36%, while Labour is down three points to 32% . It is their best vote share since George Osborne's 'omnishambles' Budget . Last time they had four-point lead with ComRes poll was September 2010 . Ukip is on 12%, Liberal Democrats are on 9% and the Greens are on 5% .