Labour begins to close gap on the Tories as key elections draw near
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Labour has slashed the Conservatives’ lead in several new polls today, with a slew of key elections just days away.
Labour’s clawback of the Tory lead comes after Boris Johnson has been hit by a week of cronyism and sleaze allegations.
A Focaldata/The Times poll has the Tories on 40 per cent to Labour on 39 per cent, while an Opinium/Observer poll has the Tories up by 42 to 39.
Last week’s Opinium/Observer poll had the Tories up by 11.
The two polls come after Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have led Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour by around nine or 10 points in the polls for weeks, with a YouGov survey earlier this week giving the Tories an 11-point lead.
The tightening gap could suggest ongoing scandals plaguing Boris Johnson – about the refurbishment of his flat, allegations he tried to stop a leak inquiry to appease his fiancee and about alleged crass comments about Covid victims – are starting to have an effect on the public opinion.
On Thursday, 48m people will be eligible to vote in a series of key elections that will act as the largest electoral test for the two major parties since the 2019 General Election.
Among them is a neck-and-neck by-election in the traditional Labour seat of Hartlepool, Scottish Holyrood elections and mayoral elections in places like London, Tees Valley, Manchester and the West Midlands.
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy today talked down Labour’s chances in Thursday’s elections, telling Sky News that “something is shifting” on the doorstop but that the elections will be “very difficult” for the party.