Labour is heading for a majority of 416 in an election result which would prove cataclysmic for the Tory Party, according to a new Mail on Sunday poll.
The Deltapoll survey gives Sir Keir Starmer’s party a 25-point lead, which would reduce the Conservatives to a Liberal Democrat-sized rump of 37 seats.
Even Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would lose his Yorkshire seat, despite defending a majority of more than 27,000.
The polling company carefully caveats that the projection is based on a crude uniform swing, and should be treated with caution.
Nonetheless, the poll, which was partly conducted in the aftermath of the furore over Rishi Sunak’s early return from the D-Day commemorations, highlights the scale of Sunak’s task in the run up to the July 4th vote.
The poll puts Labour on 46 per cent and the Conservatives on 21 per cent, their lowest rating in this Parliament. Nigel Farage’s Reform is on 12 per cent.
Despite the colossal Labour lead, it reveals some scepticism about Starmer.
Asked about the Labour leader’s insistence, during last Tuesday’s leaders’ debate, that he would not support the use of private healthcare for family members who need it, only 13 per cent of respondents agreed.
And a total of 59 per cent say they are ‘worried’ by the prospect of the Labour Party raising taxes by £2,000 per household – a controversial claim made by Sunak during the debate.
In addition, 41 per cent believe that Labour will work to reverse Brexit if they win power – 25 per cent disagree.
But only one in five – 22 per cent – think that Sunak should do a deal with Nigel Farage to save the Conservatives.
Joe Twyman, Co-founder and Director of Deltapoll, said: ‘After a difficult few days for Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party, Deltapoll’s results for today’s Mail on Sunday will make for grim reading as party support hits an all-time low for this Parliament.
The launch of the party manifestos next week will be a crucial moment. If that launch does not bring about a swift and sustained turnaround in the for-tunes of Rishi Sunak specifically and the Conservatives in general, it is difficult to see what can.’
Deltapoll interviewed 2,010 British adults online between 6th – 8th June 2024. The data have been weighted to be representative of the British adult population as a whole.
Today, Mr Sunak apologised to ‘disgusted’ veterans in his constituency which contains Britain’s biggest army garrison for leaving the D-Day anniversary early.
The under-fire Tory leader refused to meet with the national media today but spoke to regional newspaper The Northern Echo saying he was ‘deeply sorry’ for the hurt he had caused.
His constituents living in Catterick Garrison previously said his decision to ditch the commemoration on June 6 was ‘disgusting’.
Mr Sunak, who is the Member of Parliament for Richmond, Yorkshire, told the Echo: ‘The itinerary had been set a while ago, but it was a mistake not to stay after the British events and after the engagement with British veterans, and for that, I am deeply sorry.’
He added that he had been ‘privileged to attend’ a number of events in Portsmouth and France.
Catterick Garrison is Britain’s biggest army garrison and had a population of around 13,000 in 2017.
It has a number of barracks named after historical British Army battles, many of which took place during the First World War.
The Prime Minister was also blasted by fellow Tories and military veterans for snubbing the final D-Day event in Normandy by flying back to London to conduct a pre-recorded interview with ITV.
Today a possible ‘huddle’ with journalists was called off as the D-Day row continued, and after his awkward exchange with broadcasters on Friday.
It came after another Cabinet minister said Mr Sunak had made a ‘mistake’ by skipping a major D-Day event amid Tory anger over the move.
Mark Harper said he agreed ‘with what the Prime Minister himself said – it was a mistake for him to leave early’, but did not go as far as fellow senior Conservative Penny Mordaunt in branding the decision ‘completely wrong’.
Mr Sunak was forced to apologise for leaving France before an international ceremony attended by world leaders including US President Joe Biden to mark the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings.