As local elections approach in England next month, a recent survey suggests that Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party may benefit from a swing among a significant portion of undecided voters.
According to a poll conducted for 'The Times,' nearly one-third of all voters are unsure of how they will cast their ballot or have no plans to vote.
The survey also found that a greater proportion of undecided voters trust Sunak and the Conservatives to handle the economy, which has historically been a good indicator of how people vote, the newspaper analysis notes.
Additionally, when asked to choose the best Prime Minister between Sunak and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, 21 per cent of respondents supported Sunak while only 8 per cent backed Starmer, the analysis by YouGov found.
The survey, conducted just weeks ahead of the local council polls scheduled for May 4th, reveals that if an election were held today, the “don't knows” would be the UK's third-largest party, with 16 per cent of the vote - just 2 per cent behind the Tories.
“Tory and Labour strategists acknowledge that this group presents both the biggest opportunity to Sunak and the biggest threat to Starmer's hopes of a healthy Labour majority when the general election comes.
On the positive side for the Tories, at the moment this group seems to be leaning towards Sunak,” the newspaper poll analysis reads.
The upcoming local election in the UK is viewed as a precursor to the next general election.
According to Conservative Party strategists, between 30-40 per cent of the electorate is still undecided, and they hope that as the general election approaches, this group will ultimately support Sunak – based on their own internal polling.
According to a senior figure in the Conservative campaign who spoke to 'The Times', there is a parallel between the current situation and the 2014 elections, where despite being behind in the polls by six points, Tory leader David Cameron was perceived as the better prime minister compared to Labour leader Ed Miliband.
As a result, many voters eventually sided with the Tories in the 2015 general election.
The source added that while it may take some time before this trend becomes apparent in the headline voting intention, Cameron's victory in 2015 is a testament to the importance of perceived leadership qualities in voters' decision-making.
However, the Labour Party currently enjoys an 18-point lead over the governing Tories in overall polling.
According to an average of all polls compiled by Politico, Sunak has helped improve the party’s position since his predecessor Liz Truss, but the Tories still face a challenging task to win over voters before the next general election.
(With inputs from PTI)
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