Labor has widened its lead in the polls in the lead-up to next month’s Victorian election, with Newspoll putting its two-party-preferred lead at 54-46, the strongest approval for the Andrews government since early 2015.

The poll, conducted last week and published in the Australian on Tuesday, also showed Daniel Andrews has climbed four percentage points since April to win 45% support as the preferred premier, while the opposition leader, Matthew Guy, fell five percentage points to 29%.

Labor’s primary vote was up three percentage points to 41% since April, while the Coalition dropped two points in the same period to 39%.

Victorian election 2018: on the ground in Morwell, part one Read more

Satisfaction with Andrews’ performance is also up two points at 45% and dissatisfaction down seven points to 40%, while satisfaction with Guy’s performance has dropped one point to 31% and dissatisfaction increased one point to 36%.

The poll comes as the state Liberal party appears to be distancing itself from its federal counterparts.

Scott Morrison was in Victoria on Monday but did not join Guy on the campaign trail, heading to Princetown on the Great Ocean Road for a tourism announcement while Guy went to the regional city of Ballarat.

On Tuesday Guy’s campaign bus retraced the prime minister’s steps, heading to the coastal town of Torquay before continuing along the Great Ocean Road past Princetown to Warrnambool.

Morrison also didn’t attend the state Liberal party’s campaign launch on Sunday. That role was filed by the senior Victorian Liberal and federal treasurer, Josh Frydenberg.

Asked by reporters in Ballarat whether he was avoiding Morrison, Guy said: “I need him involved and will be having him involved.”

Morrison, when asked, said: “I look forward to spending time with him over the course of the next few weeks.”

A federal Newspoll on Monday showed the Morrison government was bleeding voter support, with its primary vote dropping to 36%, lower than the final Newspoll of Malcolm Turnbull’s tenure.

Satisfaction with Morrison’s performance slipped four points in the past two weeks to 41%, while dissatisfaction climbed six points to 44%.

Scott Morrison's popularity slides along with Coalition support – Newspoll Read more

Labor has restored its two-party-preferred lead of 46-54, but Morrison still leads Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister on 43% to the opposition leader’s 35%.

Both major parties are expected to spend significant time campaigning in regional seats this election.

Andrews spent Monday campaigning in his hometown of Wangaratta in north-east Victoria and headed to the Gippsland seat of Morwell, one of the most marginal in regional Victoria, on Tuesday.

Early voting opens in just two weeks, on 12 November. Election day is on 24 November.