ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

Ed Miliband has pulled ahead in the election battle in London after a dramatic three-point dip in support for the Greens, an exclusive poll reveals today.

With nine weeks left to Polling Day, Labour has increased its lead to 12-points in the capital, its best lead since last May, according to the YouGov/Evening Standard survey.

David Cameron’s Conservatives are unchanged on 32 per cent, with Ukip third at 10 and the Liberal Democrats on seven.

Labour is on course to win around seven of its dozen target seats in London, toppling Tories like Gavin Barwell in Croydon Central and Matthew Offord in Hendon, plus Lib Dem minister Lynne Featherstone.

However, the London findings suggest Mr Miliband will fall short of an overall majority in the Commons, leaving another hung Parliament.

Labour appears to be mopping up from the dip in the fortunes of Natalie Bennett’s Greens, down from eight per cent to five per cent since January. The findings come after Ms Bennett’s disastrous “brain fade” interview, in which she could not say how much her policies cost.

Tanya Abraham of YouGov said: “Our poll suggests the recent Green surge in the capital has been pegged back. The party could increasingly be squeezed by Labour as its policies come under more scrutiny as we get closer to polling day.”

An Evening Standard analysis of the poll combined with other data points to:

Harrow East, where Tory MP Bob Blackman was embarrassed recently by expenses controversy, is on a knife-edge and too close to call.

Labour is currently ahead in Brent Central, Hendon, Enfield North, Brentford & Isleworth, Croydon Central and - more narrowly - in Hornsey & Wood Green and Ealing Central & Acton.

Conservatives are holding on in Battersea, Ilford North and Finchley & Golders Green - seats that Labour won in Tony Blair’s best years. But the Tories are falling short in Lib Dem-held Carshalton & Wallington, a former key target.

Simon Hughes is resisting Labour attacks in Bermondsey and Old Southwark, while fellow Lib Dem Paul Burstow is fending off Tories in Sutton & Cheam.

The analysis reveals how critical the election day performance of the Greens and Ukip will be in key battlegrounds. In Harrow East, where the outcome comes down to a few hundred votes either way, the Greens are set to pull in over 1,500 votes. In Croydon Central, Mr Barwell appears to be losing by more than 1,000 votes, while Ukip could get 7,000.

Source note: Seat-by-seat analysis based on YouGov findings, adjusted for Ashcroft polls and unique local factors using UK-Elect.