Less than half (47 per cent) of the people that voted for the Liberal Democrats in 2010 would vote for the party today, according to a Sunday Mirror/Independent on Sunday/ComRes poll.
The research found that only 24 per cent of respondents agreed that the LibDems are a “credible party of government” as a result of the coalition, despite Nick Clegg’s insistence at the party conference on Saturday that they are no longer a “protest” or “luxury" vote.
Around the same number (23 per cent) agreed that the LibDems have done “a good job moderating Conservative policies”.
The survey, which polled 2,000 British adults online, also found that David Cameron’s popularity has slowly declined.
Asked if they thought the Tory leader is turning out to be a good Prime Minister, only 33 per cent agreed, down from 38 per cent last December.
Nick Clegg has suffered a similar decline. When asked the same question, 20 per cent agreed that he is turning out to be a good leader, down from 26 per cent last December.
However, Labour Leader Ed Miliband has enjoyed a boost in popularity, with 20 per cent approving of his leadership, up from 17 per cent last December.
Perhaps most worrying for Clegg, when asked if they expected the Liberal Democrats to do much worse at the next general election than they did at the last one, respondents overwhelmingly agreed (68 per cent).
Yet it’s not all bad for the coalition, with 56 per cent agreeing with the government’s move to reduce the number of MPs in Westminster from 650 to 600.
Overall, the poll puts the Conservatives on 38 per cent, level pegging with Labour, who have gained ground. The Liberal Democrats remain on 11 per cent.