Labour hold their biggest poll lead over the Conservatives for almost ten years amid mass dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the cost of living.
A YouGov poll for The Times showed Labour with the backing of 43 per cent of voters, 15 points ahead of the Conservatives on 28 per cent. It is the biggest Labour lead recorded by the pollster since February 2013.
Labour’s score of 43 per cent is four points up on last week and the party’s highest vote share in a YouGov poll since March 2018. At the 2019 general election the party won 32.1 per cent of the vote under Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir Starmer’s predecessor.
The Conservatives have fallen two points in a week to 28 per cent, their lowest figure since a poll in January at the height of the No 10 parties scandal.
At the last election the Conservatives won 43.6 per cent of the vote. One in ten of those who voted for the party under Boris Johnson in 2019 now say they would vote for Labour in a general election. The poll will add to fears among Conservative MPs that the party faces disaster regardless of whether Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak succeeds Johnson in just over two weeks.
There are signs that the public believes Labour can win an election after 12 years out of office. Asked to predict the outcome of a general election with Truss as the party leader, 34 per cent predicted a Conservative government with a large majority, a small majority or in a hung parliament. But 37 per cent predicted a Labour government, including 24 per cent who forecast a Labour majority.
Asked what would happen if Sunak wins, 35 per cent predicted a Conservative government after the next election and 36 per cent predicted a Labour government.
The poll also shows solid support for Starmer’s policies to address the cost of living crisis. The Labour leader announced this week that he wanted to freeze the energy price cap at current levels, funded in part by an expanded windfall tax on energy giants, rather than letting bills rise further.
Asked which of Starmer, Sunak and Truss had the best plan for dealing with rising energy bills, 25 per cent chose Starmer, 11 per cent Sunak and 8 per cent Truss. However, the biggest score was 35 per cent for none of the above with 21 per cent saying they did not know.
Adam McDonnell, YouGov’s research director, said: “These latest results should be very worrying for the Conservative Party and indicate that the next prime minister will have work to do in restoring public trust on handling the cost of living crisis. The last time Labour held such a commanding lead in the polls was in 2013 when the Conservatives were still suffering from the fallout of the omnishambles budget.
“While the leadership hopefuls have been fighting each other in a prolonged campaign, Labour’s plan for tackling rising energy bills has been received well and they are now tied with the Tories on who would be best to handle the economy — an issue they had previously lagged way behind on for almost a decade. Of course, things can change very quickly, particularly when there is a change of leader, but whoever does get the top job is unlikely to have much of a honeymoon period.”
Internal Labour analysis has predicted that if Truss wins she will experience an initial bounce in the polls which could stretch into double digits. The party believes that Johnson’s abysmal ratings will inflate the usual rise in support achieved when a party elects a new leader.
The poll will strengthen Starmer’s hand as he faces pressure within the party to come out more unequivocally in support of striking workers. John McDonnell, shadow chancellor under Corbyn, called yesterday on the Labour leader to support industrial action “when necessary”. He told the BBC: “I am hoping that Keir Starmer will realise actually the public mood is that people need support now to get them through this crisis and Labour should be at the forefront of that support.”
It’s also because the current Pm is on his second holiday in the last month while 35m people are in fuel poverty.
The cost of living crisis is in full fuck everyone mode and the two people that could potentially become PM have lacklustre ideas to solve it (or absolutely stupid ideas like cutting tax).
The country is a mess and were ran by a party that does not give a shit, literally bragging about taking money from deprived areas and giving to the wealthy.
Fuck the Tories.
You mean Blue passports and soverign fish after a decade of being in power, isn’t enough?
How sad must it be as a poor Tory supporter. The country is going to absolute shit after 12 years of Tory rule and you’re still hanging onto the idea that it would be worse with any other party. Like, I wonder what the Tories have done that makes them proud and feel patriotic. I suppose Brexit if they’re still under the delusion that this government is making it work for the average person.
Boomers always happy to receive handouts when THEY are facing capitalism issues. That’s why Labour on in the lead.
Amazing how dumbed down the public is. If Labour were in power they would have locked down faster, harder and for longer during Covid, which would have meant even worse inflation than we have now. Not to mention their policy on energy and green levies.
It’s a shit state of affairs when the choice is the Tories or the red tie version of the Tories. No difference between them. Abandoning the pro-eu voters, abandoning Labour unions. What the fuck do Labour stand for if not marginal Tory seat appeasers.
Labour’s leads poll while 12 year government has the past economic decisions come home to roost. They’ll their 5 year stint and get chucked for not fixing everything. So excited
For comparison, just over two years before the 1997 election, Labour were on 55% and the Tories on 27%
Despite that, Sir Kier will somehow bungle it.
We have 2 years until general election. We get Liz Trust and cost of living will be brought down due to end in war in Ukraine and she will take credit for it. She will be much more popular.
Only 10 years?
I’m not the biggest Starmer fan but I’m still going to vote Labour. Do not let best be the enemy of better.
We MUST remove the Tories.
Set to double who ever takes over n triple if Liz takes the poisend Tory Chalice.
Good and it’s about time. I wonder how big them polls are going to be, after this winter when people are actually dying in their homes when the choice of heat or eat stops because they can’t afford either!!! How have we got to this 😪
And did Labour win an election since their last biggest lead poll?
It’s a sad commentary on our national hierarchy that if one team of incompetent politicians screws up, we lurch to another team of incompetent politicians, when, all along, it is the incompetent, unelected,public school educated lifers in Whitehall who are screwing us all.
Come on, a sensible Labour Party to kick the Tories out is what we need
Tories in deep trouble only won by personality. BOJO was a funny charming guy n we all vote for the laughs where as Corbyn was a dinosaur with a beard Liz Truss n Rishi Sunak will both falter.
19 comments
Author: Henry Zeffma
Labour hold their biggest poll lead over the Conservatives for almost ten years amid mass dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the cost of living.
A YouGov poll for The Times showed Labour with the backing of 43 per cent of voters, 15 points ahead of the Conservatives on 28 per cent. It is the biggest Labour lead recorded by the pollster since February 2013.
Labour’s score of 43 per cent is four points up on last week and the party’s highest vote share in a YouGov poll since March 2018. At the 2019 general election the party won 32.1 per cent of the vote under Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir Starmer’s predecessor.
The Conservatives have fallen two points in a week to 28 per cent, their lowest figure since a poll in January at the height of the No 10 parties scandal.
At the last election the Conservatives won 43.6 per cent of the vote. One in ten of those who voted for the party under Boris Johnson in 2019 now say they would vote for Labour in a general election. The poll will add to fears among Conservative MPs that the party faces disaster regardless of whether Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak succeeds Johnson in just over two weeks.
There are signs that the public believes Labour can win an election after 12 years out of office. Asked to predict the outcome of a general election with Truss as the party leader, 34 per cent predicted a Conservative government with a large majority, a small majority or in a hung parliament. But 37 per cent predicted a Labour government, including 24 per cent who forecast a Labour majority.
Asked what would happen if Sunak wins, 35 per cent predicted a Conservative government after the next election and 36 per cent predicted a Labour government.
The poll also shows solid support for Starmer’s policies to address the cost of living crisis. The Labour leader announced this week that he wanted to freeze the energy price cap at current levels, funded in part by an expanded windfall tax on energy giants, rather than letting bills rise further.
Asked which of Starmer, Sunak and Truss had the best plan for dealing with rising energy bills, 25 per cent chose Starmer, 11 per cent Sunak and 8 per cent Truss. However, the biggest score was 35 per cent for none of the above with 21 per cent saying they did not know.
Adam McDonnell, YouGov’s research director, said: “These latest results should be very worrying for the Conservative Party and indicate that the next prime minister will have work to do in restoring public trust on handling the cost of living crisis. The last time Labour held such a commanding lead in the polls was in 2013 when the Conservatives were still suffering from the fallout of the omnishambles budget.
“While the leadership hopefuls have been fighting each other in a prolonged campaign, Labour’s plan for tackling rising energy bills has been received well and they are now tied with the Tories on who would be best to handle the economy — an issue they had previously lagged way behind on for almost a decade. Of course, things can change very quickly, particularly when there is a change of leader, but whoever does get the top job is unlikely to have much of a honeymoon period.”
Internal Labour analysis has predicted that if Truss wins she will experience an initial bounce in the polls which could stretch into double digits. The party believes that Johnson’s abysmal ratings will inflate the usual rise in support achieved when a party elects a new leader.
The poll will strengthen Starmer’s hand as he faces pressure within the party to come out more unequivocally in support of striking workers. John McDonnell, shadow chancellor under Corbyn, called yesterday on the Labour leader to support industrial action “when necessary”. He told the BBC: “I am hoping that Keir Starmer will realise actually the public mood is that people need support now to get them through this crisis and Labour should be at the forefront of that support.”
It’s also because the current Pm is on his second holiday in the last month while 35m people are in fuel poverty.
The cost of living crisis is in full fuck everyone mode and the two people that could potentially become PM have lacklustre ideas to solve it (or absolutely stupid ideas like cutting tax).
The country is a mess and were ran by a party that does not give a shit, literally bragging about taking money from deprived areas and giving to the wealthy.
Fuck the Tories.
You mean Blue passports and soverign fish after a decade of being in power, isn’t enough?
How sad must it be as a poor Tory supporter. The country is going to absolute shit after 12 years of Tory rule and you’re still hanging onto the idea that it would be worse with any other party. Like, I wonder what the Tories have done that makes them proud and feel patriotic. I suppose Brexit if they’re still under the delusion that this government is making it work for the average person.
Boomers always happy to receive handouts when THEY are facing capitalism issues. That’s why Labour on in the lead.
Amazing how dumbed down the public is. If Labour were in power they would have locked down faster, harder and for longer during Covid, which would have meant even worse inflation than we have now. Not to mention their policy on energy and green levies.
It’s a shit state of affairs when the choice is the Tories or the red tie version of the Tories. No difference between them. Abandoning the pro-eu voters, abandoning Labour unions. What the fuck do Labour stand for if not marginal Tory seat appeasers.
Labour’s leads poll while 12 year government has the past economic decisions come home to roost. They’ll their 5 year stint and get chucked for not fixing everything. So excited
For comparison, just over two years before the 1997 election, Labour were on 55% and the Tories on 27%
Despite that, Sir Kier will somehow bungle it.
We have 2 years until general election. We get Liz Trust and cost of living will be brought down due to end in war in Ukraine and she will take credit for it. She will be much more popular.
Only 10 years?
I’m not the biggest Starmer fan but I’m still going to vote Labour. Do not let best be the enemy of better.
We MUST remove the Tories.
Set to double who ever takes over n triple if Liz takes the poisend Tory Chalice.
Good and it’s about time. I wonder how big them polls are going to be, after this winter when people are actually dying in their homes when the choice of heat or eat stops because they can’t afford either!!! How have we got to this 😪
And did Labour win an election since their last biggest lead poll?
It’s a sad commentary on our national hierarchy that if one team of incompetent politicians screws up, we lurch to another team of incompetent politicians, when, all along, it is the incompetent, unelected,public school educated lifers in Whitehall who are screwing us all.
Come on, a sensible Labour Party to kick the Tories out is what we need
Tories in deep trouble only won by personality. BOJO was a funny charming guy n we all vote for the laughs where as Corbyn was a dinosaur with a beard Liz Truss n Rishi Sunak will both falter.