General Election 2015: Nick Clegg at risk of losing his seat as Sheffield race heats up
Nick Clegg is on course to lose his seat at the General Election, a poll released yesterday shows.
The new poll of marginal seats, by former Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, revealed that the Liberal Democrat leader is two points behind his Labour opponent in Sheffield Hallam, where he has been the MP since 2005.
The candidates are not named in the poll, and the response to the Lib Dems does improve when voters are asked to think about the candidates standing in the area in next month’s vote.
This will be of little comfort to Clegg though, who is facing the prospect of suffering a “Portillo moment” – a reference to the high profile defeat of Michael Portillo when he was Conservative defence secretary.
The snapshot shows 34 per cent support for Clegg, 36 per cent support for his Labour opponent, and the Tories on 16 per cent.
Polling also shows that the Lib Dems will hold onto the seats of North Cornwall, Torbay, St Ives, and Cambridge. However the party will suffer defeat to the Conservatives in the held seats of North Devon and St Austell and Newquay, as well as the seat of Camborne and Redruth which it lost in 2010.