Tories snatch seven-point poll lead as party ‘eyes early election’
2 min read
The Conservatives have grabbed a seven-point poll lead amid rumours the party is mulling whether to call a snap general election.
In a major blow for Jeremy Corbyn, Labour support slumped by six points from 40% to 34% in the past fortnight, while backing for the Conservatives grew from 37% to 41%, according to an Opinium poll for the Observer.
It marks the largest poll lead for the Tories since the snap election in June last year - in which Mrs May lost her Commons majority.
The survey also showed that public approval of Mr Corbyn’s handling of Brexit had fallen to a new low of 16%, down from 18% two weeks ago. Meanwhile, only 42% of Labour members said they supported Mr Corbyn’s approach.
And it showed that public support for Theresa May’s handling of the issue had grown to 25% among the general public, while a majority of 54% of Tory members now back her plans.
Mrs May’s Brexit deal has also become slightly more popular with the public, with 15% of people now believing it works for the country, up 3% from a fortnight ago.
The results come amid rumours that CCHQ is eyeing up a possible snap general election to be held on the anniversary of D-Day, 6 June.
According to the Mail on Sunday, the Tories have already begun block-booking printing houses for election materials as well as tripling their spend on digital advertising.
The paper also revealed that senior staffers at Tory HQ had been briefed on contingency plans should Conservative members seek to deselect some sitting MPs ahead of a another election.
But one minister told the paper the proposals for an election were a plot by “second-rate staff desperate to keep their jobs,” while an ally of the Prime Minister said the plan was “utter madness.”
Mrs May had previously sworn that she would not lead the party into another general election in exchange for her MPs supporting her in December's vote of no confidence.
A Downing Street spokesperson denied there were any plans for a general election.
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