Liberal Democrats steam ahead of Labour in national voting intention

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Vince Cable with activists in Chelmsford. Photograph: David Mirzoeff/PA. - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

A survey has found that the Liberal Democrats have once again leapfrogged Labour in national polls, putting the unequivocally pro-Remain party just two points behind the Brexit Party.

A YouGov poll commissioned by the Times has put the Lib Dems ahead of Labour in national voting intentions. Picture: YouGov – Credit: YouGov

The YouGov poll, commissioned by the Times, shows that 21% of respondents would vote for the Lib Dems while 23% would vote for the Brexit Party.

Both Labour and the Conservatives are level pegging on 20%.

The Lib Dems experienced a surge around the time of the EU elections, in which they came second off the back of their staunchly pro-Remain campaigning.

Shortly after that, a YouGov poll also placed them first in general election voting intentions, passing the Brexit Party.

The upsets being caused by both the Lib Dems and the Brexit Party – who both campaign primarily on their diametrically opposed positions on Brexit – have prompted ongoing commentary on a major realignment in the British political system, putting pressure on both Labour and the Tories to take more hardline stances from both sides.

READ: Did the European elections spell the demise of the UK’s two-party system?Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has recently made a play that factors this in, outlining how his party could lend support to the Tories in exchange for pushing through a no-deal Brexit.

READ: Nigel Farage reveals proposal to crash out of the EU with a Tory-Brexit Party pactMeanwhile, Labour’s deputy Tom Watson has redoubled his efforts to persuade others in the leadership to back a People’s Vote, arguing that the party could be “electoral history” if it does not take a clearer pro-Remain position.

WATCH: Labour risks ‘electoral history’ if it doesn’t back People’s Vote – Watson