Labour are still 19 points ahead of the Tories nationally, poll finds
Labour has remained almost 20 points ahead of the Tories in the lead up to this week’s by-elections, with Sir Keir Starmer’s party falling just one point in the latest polling.
A survey by Techne UK, carried out on Wednesday and Thursday, had Labour leading with a 19 point lead over the Conservatives.
Sir Keir’s party began the year with a lead of around 20 points over the Conservative, which narrowed to around 15 around spring as Rishi Sunak clawed back some ground.
But the gap has begun to widen again in recent weeks, with Labour leading by between 17 and 24 points on average.
This week’s polls of 1,632 adults revealed 45 per cent supported Labour, one point lower than the previous week.
The Conservatives remained level at 26 per cent and the Lib Dems, Green Party and SNP also did not change, polling at 11 per cent, five per cent and three per cent respectively.
Only Reform UK increased its support, climbing from six to seven per cent.
Opinium polling from last week put Labour on 43 per cent, 15 ahead of the Tories on 28 per cent. Savanta polling from the start of the month also revealed a 15 point lead for Labour.
It came as Sir Keir said Tory losses this week showed voters were letting out a “cry for change”.
Labour won in Selby and Ainsty and the Liberal Democrats in Somerton and Frome, both overturning majorities of about 20,000. The Tories narrowly held onto Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice said the results across the three seats shows the Conservatives are 21 percentage points down, mirroring the national polling.
He said it suggested the Tories are in “deep electoral trouble” despite an insistence from Mr Sunak that the results indicate the next election is not lost yet.