Three polls put the Tory lead over Labour between two and three points

Keir Starmer speaking during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA Wire) - Credit: PA

The Tory lead over Labour has narrowed – with new polling putting the lead at between two and three points.

Opinium Research placed the Conservatives’ vote share at 43% – the lowest since Boris Johnson became prime minister, with Labour edging up to 40% – its highest rating since January, according to the poll.

The Lib Dems were on 6% and Greens on 4%.

Deltapoll had a similar small lead for the Tories – with Boris Johnson’s party on 41% and Labour on 38%. The Lib Dems remain on 8%.

Survation had the lead at just two points, with the Tories on 41% and Labour on 39%, and Lib Dems on 7%.

According to Opinium some 47% of those surveyed disapproved of the way the government has handled the Covid-19 crisis, while 44% disapproved of how Johnson is handling his job as PM.

Seven in 10 people (71%) thought Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, should be sacked following his alleged lockdown breach.

And two thirds of people – 66% – believe Cummings’ actions make it more likely that the public will break the rules.

Adam Drummond, head of political polling at Opinium, said: ‘The public are starting to lose confidence in the government’s ability to handle the crisis – approval of how they are handling things has dropped from 65% at the beginning of lockdown to just 34% today.


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‘Public appetite for lifting the lockdown measures remains minimal, with even Conservative voters more likely to say that things are being released too quickly than too slowly.

‘Meanwhile Keir Starmer’s ‘constructive opposition’ positioning is continuing to pay off, with the Labour leader drawing almost level with Boris Johnson on the ‘best prime minister’ question as well as overtaking the PM on a series of leadership attributes such as competence and trustworthiness.’