Half of Britons consider themselves Tories as Boris bounce continues, says poll
Almost half of Britons now consider themselves to be Tories, according to a new poll.
The survey by YouGov for The Times newspaper found that 49% of people would vote Conservative if there was an election tomorrow.
Labour is 20 percentage points behind on 29%, followed by the Liberal Democrats on 10%.
The results show that Boris Johnson’s honeymoon period shows little sign of dwindling.
With both Labour and the Lib Dems embroiled in the long process of selecting a new leader, the Tories’s popularity has soared.
First YouGov Westminster voting intention of the new Parliament (fieldwork 24-26 Jan)
Con - 49%
Lab - 29%
Lib Dem - 10%
SNP - 5%
Green - 4%
Brexit Party - 2%
Plaid Cymru - 1%
Other - 0%https://t.co/lBynWT6tJB pic.twitter.com/prFACbnrhf— YouGov (@YouGov) January 28, 2020
The figures aren’t far from the result of December’s general election, when the Conservatives took home 43.6% of the vote, albeit from a turnout of 67.3%.
In the election, Labour secured 32.2% of the vote.
The YouGov poll found that 5% of Britons would vote for the Scottish National Party if an election were held tomorrow, while 4% would vote Green.
Read more
Boris Johnson marks signing of Brexit deal with picture of himself flanked by Union Jack flags
Labour leadership hopeful Emily Thornberry says she's more radical than Jeremy Corbyn
Only 1% would vote for Plaid Cymru and 2% for the Brexit Party.
The Labour Party suffered its worst election defeat since 1935 during the December poll, losing 59 seats overall.
Leadership candidate Sir Keir Starmer has said the party has been making policies "without regard" for those in society who "want to get on".
In what will be seen as a criticism of the party's direction under outgoing leader Jeremy Corbyn, the shadow Brexit secretary said the opposition party had failed to offer "opportunity" to voters in "recent years".
Sir Keir, speaking in east London on Monday night, said the party had labelled those in society either "the elite" or the "downtrodden" and had not done enough to appeal to those in between who "want to get on".
He is up against shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry for the party’s top job.
