A Survation poll has put the UK Independence Party (Ukip) on 24 percent, just three points behind the Conservatives and only seven shy of Labour. This is the second time in a month Survation has found such a strong result for Ukip, which features consistently in the high teens in the UKPollingReport’s polling average.

The poll, taken for the Mirror, surveyed 2,012 people between the 31st October and 1st November. It found that 31.1 percent favoured Labour in the next election, 27.3 percent favoured the Conservatives, and 24.5 percent Ukip. The Liberal Democrats are still trailing, on just 7.8 percent, a figure which has held steady for most of the year.

The headline figures show little UK-wide support for regional party the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), but the regional figures show a different story – the SNP scooped up 58.8 percent in Scotland, whilst Labour drop all the way down to 16.1 percent there. If that trend holds all the way to the general election next year Labour could see its Scottish strongholds wiped out, making it practically impossible for the party to take power at Westminster. Labour currently holds 41 of the 59 available seats in Scotland, and only won power in 2005 thanks to the Scottish vote.

Nonetheless, the Labour polling lead will provide a sliver of good news for Labour leader Ed Miliband, as rumours about his imminent defenestration continue to circulate. Yesterday Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls sprang to defend him, saying “It’s the Conservative party which is riven, divided and defecting, left, right and centre. Labour will stay united.”

Other colleagues have privately admitted their discontent, with one shadow minister saying “Everybody is talking about how s*** he is.”

Meanwhile Ukip are surging in the polls. This latest result is the second time within a month that the party has broken into the mid-20s, as a poll by Survation released on the 14th October put them on a record 25 percent.

“I had to pinch myself this morning when I read that figure. But what it does show is an astonishing public endorsement of UKIP’s policies,” Roger Helmer, a Ukip MEP representing the East Midlands told Breitbart London.

Although they still draw more support from the old rather than the young, securing 29.2 percent of the vote from those aged 55+ against just 18.7 percent of the 18-34 year old age bracket, they are now making advances in most regions, tipping the 20 percent mark in eight out of the 11 regions, and sailing past the 30 percent mark in three of the 11 regions. They topped the poll in East of England and the South West, but are still failing to gain traction in Scotland, where they got the support of just 7.1 percent of the voting population.

A Ukip spokesman told Breitbart London: “It is fantastic to see us now constantly polling over 20 person whenever we are promoted, it is a shame most pollsters don’t bother though. UKIP is on the up as we fast approach the general election, while the other parties are in disarray.”

The poll will also be welcome news for the party ahead of the Rochester and Strood by-election on 20th November, in which they hope to win their second Westminster seat. The by-election was called when ex-Conservative Mark Reckless announced his defection and intention to gain a mandate by re-standing at Ukip’s annual conference in Doncaster.