Four new opinion polls give Tories commanding lead over Labour as election looms
2 min read
The Conservatives continue to enjoy a commanding lead over Labour as the general election approaches, according to three new opinion polls.
Three surveys, by YouGov, Deltapoll and Opinium, all give the Tories double-digit leads, enough to give them a comfortable Commons majority if replicated on 12 December.
The fourth, by SevantaComRes, puts the Conservatives eight points in front.
Meanwhile, the polls suggest that Boris Johnson is by far the more popular party leader, compared to Labour's Jeremy Corbyn.
The YouGov poll for the Sunday Times puts the Conservatives on 45%, with Labour on 28%, while the Deltapoll survey for the Mail on Sunday also puts the Tories on 45%, with Labour on 30%.
According to Opinum, the Tories lead Labour by 44% to 28%, while SevantaComRes for the Sunday Telegraph puts the Conservatives on 41%, compared to Labour's 33%.
The polls also suggest that the Conservatives are consolidating their support among Leave supporters and the working class.
James Crouch, political polling expert at Opinium, said: "For the past six months the Conservatives have consolidated their position amongst Leave voters.
"Especially since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, week after week we have noticed more Brexit supporters falling in line behind the Conservatives.
"It might not be a new story, but now we are in a territory we haven’t seen before, with unprecedented numbers of Leave voters backing the Tories from all political backgrounds. That’s what gives them their 16-point lead, the third we have recorded in two months.
"Ultimately the trends we have seen for weeks have continued because very little about the public’s perception of the leaders and their policies has changed. In the following weeks the leader debates and the unveiling of the manifestos might move the dial, but to what extent remains to be seen."
The poll findings come less than four weeks before polling day.
But Labour will take comfort from the fact that the party managed to make huge advances in the final weeks of the 2017 campaign, following the publication of both main parties' manifestos.
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