Labour could be on course to win more seats than the Tories at the forthcoming general election, according to a new poll.
The ComRes survey for The Independent showed the Conservatives' lead narrowing from seven to five points in the past month.
It is the second poll in recent days to suggest that Labour could remain the biggest party in the Commons, albeit short of a majority.
ComRes found that support for the Tories was down one point at 37%, while that for Labour was up one on 32%. The Liberal Democrats were unchanged on 19%.
The margin represents the Tories' smallest lead in the monthly ComRes survey since December 2008.
According to John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, the figures would give Labour 294 seats, the Tories 277, the Liberal Democrats 46 and others 33.
Gordon Brown would be 32 seats short of an overall majority in a hung parliament.
The poll reinforces the recent trend showing Labour gaining ground on the Tories as the election, expected on May 6, approaches.
A YouGov survey for the Sunday Times this weekend found that the Tories' lead had deteriorated to just two percentage points, by 37% to 35%.
ComRes telephoned 1,005 British adults between February 26 and 28. Data were weighted by past vote recall.
