Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Survey: Tories set for heavy election defeat

The survey predicted Labour winning more than 400 seats

Survey: Tories set for heavy election defeat

PRIME MINISTER Rishi Sunak's Tory party is set for a heavy defeat at a national election expected this year, according to a seat projection which showed the opposition Labour winning more than 400 seats.

The YouGov model, which predicts results in individual parliamentary seats based on estimated vote share, projected that Sunak's Tories would win just 155 seats and Labour would win 403 seats. Britain's parliament has 650 seats.


Polls have consistently given Labour a double digit lead over Tories, ahead of an election which Sunak has said he expects to call in the second half of the year.

The Tories have been in government, either in coalition or on their own, since 2010, but have had five different prime ministers in that time, as Britain's vote to leave the European Union and scandal over the handling of the Covid crisis led to continued political turmoil.

The poll indicated Sunak is still struggling to gain momentum after a tax-cutting budget last month and ahead of local elections in May.

The model showed the Tories doing slightly worse - and Labour doing better - than when YouGov last published such a projection in January.

YouGov now projects that the Tories would score fewer seats than they did in 1997, when they won just 165 seats in a landslide defeat to Labour led by Tony Blair.

Among the prominent Tory lawmakers who could lose their seats were finance minister Jeremy Hunt and former leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt, YouGov said.

The model projected Labour would fall short of the 418 seats won under Blair, with the projected 154 seat majority also less than the 179 majority it won in 1997.

YouGov interviewed 18,761 British adults interviewed from March 7-27 for the survey. The number is many times larger than regular opinion polling and YouGov said the method correctly predicted the previous two elections.

It said the headline election result based on the model would see Labour on 41 per cent of the vote and Tories on 24 per cent, though cautioned that the results could look different to regular polling due to its treatment of those that do not currently have a voting intention.

(Reuters)

More For You

Starmer home

Police officers stand outside Starmer's private home, after it was damaged by fire in a suspected arson attack in north London, on May 13.

Reuters

Police arrest 21-year-old over fire at Starmer’s private residence

POLICE have arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of arson after fires were reported at three locations, including prime minister Keir Starmer’s private home in north London.

Officers were called in the early hours of Monday to a fire at a property in Kentish Town, which Starmer represents in parliament. No injuries were reported, but the entrance of the property was damaged.

Keep ReadingShow less
David-Lammy-Getty

Foreign secretary David Lammy said he hoped the ceasefire would be sustained and called for dialogue between the two sides. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

David Lammy urges India, Pakistan to sustain ceasefire

The UK on Saturday (10) welcomed the ceasefire agreedbetween India and Pakistan and urged both countries to continue steps towards de-escalation.

Foreign secretary David Lammy said he hoped the ceasefire would be sustained and called for dialogue between the two sides.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi  speech

'If another terrorist attack against India is carried out, a strong response will be given,' Modi said.

Reuters

Modi warns of strong response to any future terrorist attack

PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Monday said India would respond strongly to any future terrorist attack and would not tolerate "nuclear blackmail" in case of further conflict with Pakistan.

His remarks came after a weekend ceasefire appeared to be holding following four days of heavy fighting between the two sides. US president Donald Trump, who said he brokered the ceasefire, claimed on Monday that US intervention had prevented a "bad nuclear war".

Keep ReadingShow less
UK legal immigration

Among those who favoured reductions, 49 per cent prioritised reducing irregular arrivals such as small boat crossings, while only 4 per cent wanted fewer work or student visas.

iStock

Most Britons back immigration for work and study, new poll finds

A MAJORITY of people in Britain support immigration for work and study, according to a new survey published on May 11, ahead of the government's expected Immigration White Paper.

The poll, conducted by Focaldata for British Future, found that most respondents would not reduce immigration for doctors (77 per cent), care home workers (71 per cent), engineers (65 per cent), fruit pickers (70 per cent), catering staff (63 per cent) or lorry drivers (63 per cent). Two-thirds (65 per cent) also said they would not reduce the number of international students.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-speech-Reuters

Although he did not give a specific target, Starmer said migration would fall sharply under his government’s new plan. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

Starmer pledges sharp fall in net migration by 2029

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer on Monday said net migration to Britain would drop significantly by the end of this parliament in 2029, promising greater control to support social cohesion and boost local workforce investment.

Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street, Starmer said countries need rules to define rights, responsibilities and obligations, and warned that without them, Britain risked "becoming an island of strangers".

Keep ReadingShow less