UK Tories face historic loss amid labour landslide: survey

Published Sun, Mar 31, 2024 · 05:59 PM

THE UK’s ruling Conservative Party faces its worst election result, with Labour projected to win more than 70 per cent of seats at the next general election, according to a poll by Survation on behalf of Best for Britain.

The Tories may win just 98 seats in the House of Commons, while Labour could secure as many as 468, according to the survey of 15,000 people on behalf of the think tank and published in British newspaper The Sunday Times. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could lose his own constituency and his party will not win a single seat in Scotland or Wales, it said.

Such a landslide would mark the most comprehensive Tory defeat ever and eclipse the 1997 election, where Tony Blair’s Labour won 418 seats to John Major’s Conservatives with 165.

Sunak faces an election within the next 10 months, with observers tipping October or November as the most likely timing. The Conservatives have consistently trailed Labour in opinion polls, while its base has been splintered by the emergence of the right-wing Reform Party. 

“This poll shows we are headed for a change election of unprecedented proportions and major swings as the electorate switches support away from the Tories in different directions,” said Naomi Smith, CEO of Best for Britain.

Other senior Conservatives facing the potential loss of their seats are Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt, Home Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.

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The survey was conducted between Mar 8 and 22, and did not disclose the margin of error. BLOOMBERG

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