Ukip gains at the expense of the Conservatives
Three new polls have seen Ukip increase its share of the vote at the expense of David Cameron’s Conservative party, as Labour leads the Tories by up to five per cent.
Both Populus and Lord Ashcroft’s most recent research shows Nigel Farage’s party making gains of one or two per cent on the party’s previous results.
The surveys come after Ukip won its second seat in the House of Commons following the Rochester byelection last Friday, and following a bad week for Labour after Emily Thornberry stepped down as a shadow minister.
The Conservatives appear to be taking the hit as Ukip gain, with Cameron’s party down two points in the most recent Ashcroft poll and Ukip up by two. Labour is up two points on 32 per cent.
Populus has Labour on 36 per cent, with the Tories five points behind on 31. The Liberal Democrats remain unchanged on nine per cent while Ukip is up one on 15 per cent of the vote.
Last night, YouGov’s latest poll put Labour ahead by four per cent, up by one to 34 per cent, while the Conservative fell three to 30 per cent. In a further sign of trouble for Cameron, Ukip gained two points to poll at 18 per cent.