The attempted coup against Gordon Brown has damaged support for the Labour Party and has boosted the Conservatives, according to the first opinion poll carried out since the affair.

The Sun/YouGov poll, which was taken between 4pm on Wednesday and 11am on Thursday, put the Tories up two points to 42 per cent, with Labour down one to 30 per cent and the Liberal Democrats also down one to 16 per cent. If repeated at a general election, the figures would give David Cameron a Commons majority of 62 seats.

An earlier YouGov survey, polling up until 10am on Wednesday, showed Labour cutting the Tories' lead to 9 per cent.

YouGov's president Peter Kellner said: "These findings prove the leadership coup has been very damaging for Labour."