The Tory team of David Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne are now more trusted by voters than the Government to run the economy, according to an opinion poll.
The ComRes poll for Tuesday's edition of The Independent showed that Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne have overtaken Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling on the economy.
It found 35% now trusted the Conservative duo to steer the country through the recession, with 28% putting their faith in Mr Brown and Mr Darling and 9% opting for the Liberal Democrat pairing of Nick Clegg and Vince Cable.
It is the first time the Conservatives have come out ahead on the economy since ComRes began asking the question last September.
The poll also shows the Tories maintaining their overall poll lead with 44%, one point up on last month and 16 points ahead of Labour who were unchanged on 28%. The Lib Dems were up one on 17%.
